


Monsters: Shizuo x Reader

by morgancatlovey



Category: Durarara!!
Genre: And Shizuo can HELP, Anime/Manga - Freeform, Bonding, But some lovin' always helps, Chance Meeting, Coffee, Comedy, Develped Plot, Drrr! - Freeform, F/M, Fluff, Ikebukuro, Kissing, Light drug use, Love, Monsters, Past Abuse, Rain, Reader Insert, Romance, Shinra is as inappropriate as ever, Shizuo is a cute dork, Sloppy Makeouts, Strength, Supernatural - Freeform, Tattoos, Time does not heal all wounds, and it's just so friggin cute, bad day, but so does Shizuo, continuing story, durarara - Freeform, fan fiction, fear of thunder, general cuteness, mental and physical, sex scenes, the reader needs some love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-02
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-06 02:27:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 24,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8731201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morgancatlovey/pseuds/morgancatlovey
Summary: "Who could possibly love a monster like me?" They muttered in perfect sync.The two strangers jerked their heads up to meet each other's surprised gaze, stopping in their tracks to keep from passing each other. They had never met before, but somehow their thoughts were the same. She suddenly thought it was strange to hear those words coming from such a regular looking man, and he thought just the same about her. How wrong they both were about each other.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> “Yes, yes," said the Beast, "my heart is good, but still I am a monster."  
> "Among mankind," says Beauty, "there are many that deserve that name more than you, and I prefer you, just as you are, to those, who, under a human form, hide a treacherous, corrupt, and ungrateful heart.”  
> ― Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont

I set my cup of herbal tea down with a hard sigh, hearing the clink of the cup hit the granite kitchen counter with a bit too harsh of a clang than intended. I shut my eyes for a brief moment in silent annoyance, then turn my head and look outside; down at the empty city street just outside my dreary little apartment. The blinds are fanned out at one side and block half of the view, making me lower my eyelids bitterly at the spaced white blades. I remember back to when I tried to pull them up this morning, and how when one side came up, the other halfheartedly trailed behind, never reaching the top of the windowsill to be with its other. Eventually I gave up and stomped off to busy myself with other unimportant tasks. Today has just not been my day.

 

I keep an eye outside for a few minutes, watching a couple across the street huddle up to each other on the stairs in front of an old office building just as the steady drizzle turns into a light rain. The couple puts a small damper on my mood, but I also feel a slight weight lift off of my shoulders as I think of taking a walk outside like the young lovers, giving a sideways disapproving glance at my fifth cup of tea that was supposed to put me to sleep "right away" from what the doctor told me. As you can imagine, it definitely hasn't worked yet.

 

The microwave clock reads 11:47, and for a second, I ask myself 'AM or PM?', then face palm at the thought. Of course it is PM. There is nobody out on the street and it's fricking dark. Some idiot I am today.

 

With a huff, I jerk my tan overcoat off of the rack near my front door and punch my arms through the sleeves before looking down at my bare legs. I groan at the thought of putting on pants, and end up jerking the coat around me and buttoning it up anyway. It covers me all the way down to the tops of my shins, so revealing myself really isn't the issue here unless I miraculously become Marilyn Monroe, which most definitely will not happen.

 

I grab my trusty, favorite black umbrella from a basket near the door and slip on my shoes with a little bit of effort, then grab my apartment keys from a small table near the door and start heading out of the apartment. Shutting the door behind me with a click, I look down the dark hallway.

 

I hate the landlord. She thinks it's a wonderful idea to turn the lights off in the hallway so it won't "disturb the darkness of the apartment patron's rooms". The apartment doors don't let any light in whatsoever- I've checked. She just likes to hear me occasionally stumble down the hallway in the middle of the night because I can't sleep.

 

Her grating, grovel-y voice starts repeating her harsh nicknames for me inside my head, the words ringing through my ears like hearing damage, then a few other coworker's voices join in. People can just be total insensitive assholes sometimes.

 

I scowl at the thought of all of them, then shake my head a couple of times, warding away the bad thoughts for a little bit. I want to enjoy a midnight stroll in the rain, and I'm damn well not going to let anything ruin it. Not after the shitty day I've had.

 

I take a cautious few steps down the hallway, feeling my feet brush against random toys the landlord's grandchildren have left out. Eventually I make it down to the end of the hallway using the wall for a guide and shuffling my feet around so I don't trip. I open the door to the stairwell and squint at the sudden brightness of a nearby street light, but let my eyes adjust quickly.

 

"Such a pain to walk down that damned hallway, am I right sweetheart?" I hear the smooth, soothing voice of my favorite neighbor, Tom Tanaka. Instantly my mood brightens.

 

"You've got that right." I laugh and set my hand on his shoulder thoughtfully as I walk up to him, stopping to chat a little bit. "Late night smoke?"

 

"Yeah, long day."

 

"Me too, man." I cast my eyes away with a slightly sour half grin as I think about my day.

 

"Something bothering you?"

 

I jerk my head up to meet his eyes in surprise. Nobody usually asks me if anything is wrong. People tend to just stay away from me as much as possible. Tom and I haven't talked way too much, but he definitely takes the role of "favorite" due to all of my other neighbor's obvious, incriminating actions. I only sigh and nod, shrugging my shoulders.

 

"Here, take one. You look like you need it." He holds his pack of cigarettes out to me with a kind smile. I take one from the pack and hold it to my lips, then he takes out a lighter and ignites the end, allowing me to take a drag. The smoke leaves a burning, itchy hot wake at first as it exits my throat, but then it fills my lungs and leaves a warm, calming feeling behind, kind of like a shot of bourbon or whiskey, except with a tight feeling in your lungs. I don't really like smoking all that much, but if you get desperate enough, you try anything to get a little of the pain to go away in any way possible.

 

"I'm gonna go ahead and stumble back to my room, so catch you later, okay kid?" He sighs and smooshes the butt of his cigarette on the balcony before tossing it over the edge and down into the street.

 

"Yeah, thanks Tom. Nice seeing you."

 

"Don't mention it, and you too (Y/n)."

 

I take another drag and clench my jaw, pushing the smoke out of my mouth through my teeth with a hiss of air, reveling at the feeling of haziness. I like the feeling of having a foggy barrier between me and the bad thoughts, but the taste of the smoke kind of kills it a little bit. I put the end of the cigarette between my lips and hold it with my teeth, shoving my hands into my pockets as I continue down the open air stairway until I reach the bottom. 

 

I look down both ends of the street. Nobody is out around here except for a couple of stray people crossing the street at the four-way stoplight. This isn't the main part of the city, so not many people would be out at this hour, but in the main part of Ikebukuro there would be the same amount of people out right now as a regular Monday morning here. Plus, with it raining, there's bound to be less people out.

 

I hold my hand out from under the small overhang of the upper levels of the stairway and feel the cool raindrops dot my skin almost instantly. Popping open my umbrella, I hold it over me and start to walk down the street, looking at the glass windows of the dark shops reflecting the street. A few cars pass by, bathing me in the bright beams of their headlights and momentarily blinding me.

 

My cigarette gets a little too short to smoke anymore, so I drop it on the ground and stop out the embers with the rubber sole of my shoe. Letting out a large sigh, I tilt my umbrella back a little bit to stare up into the tiny, almost invisible raindrops. I tilt it back a little more, letting a few cool drops hit my closed eyelids, and run down my cheeks like spilled tears.

 

I fear a few real tears might slip out as the nicotine induced fog in my mind fades away a bit and lets a couple thoughts slip through.

 

I feel a dull pain in my chest as I think about the look on my ex-crush's face as I asked him if he would like to go get some coffee with me after our shift. He wrinkled his nose up and gritted his jaw with disgust. He then told me that he didn't date freaks, and left me in the dust. I sigh woefully. What did I expect, that he would be any different than everyone else? The only person that treats me with any kindness is my neighbor, who I barely even know.

 

"Who could love a monster like me?" I sorrowfully mutter to myself. As I do though, I swear I can hear someone else say it too, which stops me in my tracks. My gaze jerks forward from looking up at the sky, and with my vision a little blurry at first from the raindrops, I look to see if I'm crazy or not.

 

Sure enough, there is a man standing in front of me a few paces away. He is oddly dressed in a bartender's uniform with the same somewhat surprised look as me. The tips of his sandy blonde hair fall haphazardly over his face and glasses, his clothes are a little wrinkled up in random places, and his face stays neutral, but the expression in his light brown eyes holds a bit of curiosity.

 

In other words, he looks completely normal, so either I'm insane and imagined he said that with me, or I'm completely hallucinating from lack of sleep. It's impossible for a guy that looks like he would have women falling at his feet to say that in my mind, so I decide that I'm definitely hallucinating.

 

A huge bolt of lightning streaks across the sky, illuminating the world for a full second before disappearing back into the inky black shroud of rain clouds. I really like to see the lightning flash across the sky, but what sucks is that I'm terribly afraid of-

 

A heart stopping clap of thunder rings out of the sky, the sound waves bouncing off of the walls and steadily rising in volume so that by the time they reach me, they are as deafening as ever. I jump from shock and fear, dropping my umbrella. I try to scramble after it, but the front end rolls out into the road.

 

And of course, just my luck that a car comes flying down the street next to us and completely destroys the wiring of my umbrella.

 

I stare at it hopelessly for a couple of silent seconds before I realize that the bartender guy is still staring at me. A fiery blush rushes to my cheeks from embarrassment as I accidentally catch his stare. I jerk my eyes away and bring my hand up to rub my temples, pressing away the beginnings of a headache. With a large sigh, I tug my fingers through my hair and pick up the depressing remains of my umbrella, then walk towards a trashcan near the young man.

 

His eyes follow me curiously as I walk straight towards him and throw away my favorite umbrella. As I drop it in the bin, a small cough escapes my mouth, to which I cover up in the crook of my arm.

 

In the next second, the cold onslaught of the little raindrops quits, and I find myself confusedly wondering how the rain could stop so suddenly. That is, until I look up to see that the man has scooted a little closer to me and extended his umbrella so it covers me instead of him.

 

"Here, you'll catch a cold." He murmurs.

 

I stare incredulously up into the eyes of the man, the lens of his glasses already gathering little streams of rain upon them. His eyes hold a softness to them, but also a nonchalance that makes me tilt my head to the side, and lightly push the umbrella back to him with the tips of my fingers.

 

"I... I couldn't do that, but thanks. You keep it..." 

 

The man's face still stays neutral, but I can tell he is surprised by the way his eyes widen slightly and then his brows furrow. He opens his mouth to say something, then closes it, and then opens it again as it looks like he is trying to find the right words.

 

"Well, then at least walk under it with me? I don't want to be responsible for letting a girl get sick."

 

My mouth drops open slightly in awe. I really almost don't know what I'm supposed to do, nobody has every really offered that much hospitality to me at any time.

 

Before I can truly think about it, my mouth moves practically on it's own to answer him.

 

"Sure." I want to slap my hand over my mouth and take it back. I don't want anybody near me, especially a guy that looks and acts nice like this- I would just be bringing them down with me.

 

I flinch back a little bit as he takes a step towards me, shielding me from the rain with his umbrella again, but if he notices he doesn't say anything. I flick my eyes around, trying to find anything to look at besides his face, then settle for looking at the top of the clear umbrella, watching the rain continuously slide down the material.

 

"So, got a name?"

 

"U-uh yeah. (Y-Y/n)."

 

I almost don't catch a soft smile that forms at the corner of his lips. He closes his eyes for a second as we stand there and listen to the rain. "My name's Shizuo."

 

My breath catches in my throat for a second. I've heard that name thrown around between people right alongside mine. My thoughts must show on my face because the smile disappears entirely and is replaced with a small frown. I look down from staring at the top of the umbrella to look into his eyes again, figuring that if I'm going to talk to him, I should be polite.

 

A small bit of hope lights up inside of me as the thought that he might understand me pops up, but I try to force it down. Years of living alone like this has made me give up on hoping for such things, but for some reason, the little thread of hope holds on and wraps around my heart in a loose bow.

 

"It's um, nice to meet you Shizuo. I r-really don't mean to be rude."

 

The smile reappears. "Nice to meet you too (Y/n). Now, where can I take you?"

 

"I'm just heading back home, it's a little apartment a couple of blocks away from here, if you don't mind the walk." I try to say as confidently as possible, pointing back down the way I came.

 

He nods and takes a step forward, starting to walk in the direction I pointed to. I match his step and feel a large stream of water run over the arm of my coat from the umbrella, unintentionally moving a little closer to Shizuo. He thinks for a second, then his eyes light up a little bit. 

 

"Wait, that one little apartment with that old coot of a landlord?"

 

I unintentionally laugh, covering my mouth with the tips of my fingers to stifle it a little.

 

"Yeah, that's an accurate description of her. How do you know about it?"

 

He gives me a genuine, thoughtful grin and tilts his head a little towards me, meeting my eyes as we leisurely walk down the sidewalk. "My employer, Tom, lives there. Says she's a real trip when it comes to her catching anyone smoking... or just being alive and in her way."

 

"Haha, yeah, she intentionally turns the hallway lights off knowing I come out for walks like these at night. Strategically places toys around so I trip, too. And yeah, I know Tom, I just saw him before I left."

 

I look forward and catch the young couple I saw earlier walking alongside each other, their hands clasped tight and their bodies pressed together so much I can barely believe they are even walking. I look at them longingly. I really do want something like that. My heart aches, but then I feel that silky little thread of hope wisping around it, and I feel a little better.

 

I see shizuo Shizuo follow my eyes to the couple out of the corner of my eye. He then frowns along with me and holds the umbrella a little tighter in his grip. I bite my lip nervously and flick my eyes back to his face, tracing the harsh edge of his jaw, and the soft lines of wrinkles along his eyes. 

 

"So, um, w-when we get to my uh, my apartment, would you like to come inside for... for something to warm you up a little?" I try. I'm not very good at this- this type of polite speaking.

 

Shizuo's eyes snap to mine in a stunned expression, and at first I'm a little confused as to why he is so surprised, but then I realize exactly what I just said.

 

"Ah! I me-meant like c-coffee or so-something..." I quickly try to cover up, my cheeks flaring up in a blush and my eyes unable to look at anything else besides the ground below my feet.

 

He slightly laughs. "Yeah, sure. I'd like that, if you wouldn't mind me being there."

 

I look out of the corner of my eye at him, catching his amused and pleased expression, and end up smiling along with him, but still keep my eyes away from him in embarrassment.

 

A sole car passes by, bathing the both of us in light. I sigh comfortably, enjoying the feeling of having someone to accompany me. However, the feeling of bliss is quickly shot down as a huge clap of thunder sounds right above us. I nearly jump out of my skin, and my first instinct is to get out of the open and to the shelter of a shop overhang, but unfortunately, a body stands in my way.

 

I practically slam into Shizuo's side, catching him off guard. I almost fall, but before I can, he turns and catches me against his chest, pulling me into him so I don't fall down.

 

I stare into his chest with shock, my cheek pressed against him, shivering from the scare that still has my mind in a flurry. The first things I notice as I calm down are the slight hint of cologne on him and the hard muscle of his chest underneath his shirt. I look up at his eyes with terror still written on my face, but as soon as I recognize the worry in his eyes, it calms my mind a bit.

 

"Are you alright?"

 

I feel his words rumble through his chest and I open my mouth to answer, but as another deafening clap sounds, I fist the fabric of his shirt in my hands and turn my head in to press into his chest further, clenching my eyes tightly shut. As I shudder against him again, I feel Shizuo hesitantly move his hand up and pet the top of my hair.

 

After almost a minute of this, my fingers let go of his shirt and I stop clenching my eyelids together so tightly, embracing his warmth and awkward attempt at trying to comfort me. When I finally calm down enough, I look up again.

 

"Are you okay, now?" He mumbles kindly.

 

"Y-yeah, sorry." I back up a little against my will. I part of me wants to stay against him for a little longer, but I'm too embarrassed.

 

"Hey," Shizuo lightly places a hand on my shoulder, "it's alright, don't worry about it."

 

I turn towards him and give him a bit of an unsure grin. He mirrors it, and looks like he is trying to comfort me as much as possible, but doesn't seem too sure about whether or not he's doing it right. The goofy, somewhat reassuring smile he tries to make as he meets my gaze sends me into a fit of laughter. Something about the way he is trying so desperately to be somewhat chivalrous is just hilarious.

 

"What?" He pouts.

 

"Nothing, you're just cute." I laugh out.

 

A bright blush rises on his neck, and as soon as I stop laughing and realize that I just called him cute, a similar blush rises to my cheeks.

 

"I-I mean.." I hopelessly sigh, holding a hand on my head. This much social interaction is screwing with me. I make a fist in my hand. I'm not this girly, I should just tell him how I feel. I take a deep breath to get up my courage and just say it. "You know what? I meant it- I really do think you're cute." I scrunch my eyes shut and listen for a response, hoping I didn't scare him off.

 

I hear him start to say something, but then shut his mouth. My heart drops in my chest. I did it again. I'm going to be forever alone. Not even cats will want to live with me.

 

"W-well, I didn't expect that." Shizuo mumbles. I finally peek up at him and see that the blush has risen up to his cheeks, and he has his hand in his hair, looking away bashfully. A crooked, nervous grin plays on his lips. A bright feeling wells up in my chest, and I feel my eyes getting a little misty without my consent. Shizuo chances a look towards me and panics when he sees my eyes getting watery.

 

"Woah, I'm sorry, are you okay?" I beam at him and nod my head lightly, sucking it up a little and forcing the tears back.

 

"Yeah... thank you."

 

"What are you thanking me for?"

 

"Just, being nice to me..."

 

As we walk a bit further, I see my apartment come into view. Cutting off further conversation, partially because of embarrassment, I point to the apartment.

 

"There it is," I state as I nod my head towards the small run down apartment building. A gushing river of water is flowing out of the drainage pipe and down onto the street in a flood of muddy water. Shizuo nods and focuses his eyes on the apartment, readjusting his hold on the umbrella a little bit.

 

"So, how long have you lived here?" He asks as we approach the stairway of the building. I fumble with the inside pocket of my coat, looking for my keys so I can have them out and be ready to open up my door.

 

"Ahh not very long. I got kicked out of my last apartment just about," I stop and count the days on my fingers, noticing Shizuo taking the umbrella away and closing it, "five days ago?" I say a little unsure of how many days it really has been. It seems like forever now that I'm used to living there.

 

"Really? What did you do?"

 

"Nothing. The landlord decided he didn't like me, and wanted to believe I wouldn't kick his ass for talking trash to my face." I spit harshly. "Oh well, I didn't need that place anyway." A frustrated pout forms on my face.

 

Shizuo sofly chuckles behind me at my comment, but nonetheless follows me up the stairs. "Tell me who he is and I'll give him a beating he won't forget." I turn as I keep pace on the steps and smile.

 

"Nah, I don't think he'll ever forget the beating he got from me, but thanks, Shizuo."

 

"No problem, (Y/n)."

 

As we reach the second landing, I turn around and stop him. "The landlady will literally beat my ass if she hears us walking in, and there's a whole bunch of toys littering the floor, so you're gonna have to... um... hold my hand and let me guide you around."

 

"Okay." He puts the umbrella in his other hand and nonchalantly holds his hand out for me to take. I hesitantly lift my hand and lightly place my palm against his, biting my lip as he locks his fingers around mine without a hint of embarrassment.

 

I shake my head, getting me out of my trance, before turning around and pulling the entrance open. The door squeals in protest as it creaks open, objecting to me going back to my room. I hold the door for Shizuo and then lightly pull him through, jumping a little as the door clangs shut behind us.

 

I take a second to remember where everything is before grasping a little tighter onto Shizuo's hand and leading him through the maze of annoying little toys. More than once, I hear him stumble over something, but for the most part we get there without a hitch. I as we get to my room, I reach my knob by dragging my fingers along the door and trying to feel around for the keyhole. As soon as I find it, I put the key in the slot with a little triumphant grin and open the door.

 

A soft light bathes us both in a blueish glow as I spot the little mood lamp next to my sofa still on. I walk take a step inside and take a deep breath, slipping my shoes off at the door and motioning Shizuo inside. He follows after me and slides his dress shoes off of his feet.

 

"Do you mind if I take off my vest?"

 

"No, go ahead, there's a coat hanger right there."

 

Shizuo nods and closes the door behind him, then pulls at his bow tie, loosening the cloth from around his neck. I find myself unable to stop staring as he unbuttons his vest and shrugs it off of his shoulders before hanging it up on the rack along with the little bow tie. I unintentionally follow his fingers as he pops the first two buttons of his vest and sighs, moving his shoulders and working out the tightness in his back. I snap my eyes away as he turns to catch me staring.

 

"U-uh, go ahead and have a seat. Do you want something to drink; coffee or tea?"

 

"I'll have coffee." He reaches across his chest and moves his shoulder around a bit.

 

"Black?" I ask a little hopefully. I love coffee black, mostly because all of the coffee creamer and sugar that I can afford to buy taste like shit when mixed with it.

 

"Yep." He nods with a polite grin, and pulls his glasses off of his face. I catch myself staring again as I notice the glints of gold mixed in with the light, honey brown of his eyes now that I can see them clearer. I quickly avert my eyes so I don't get caught again, but watch him go sit down on the couch from the corner of my eye.

 

"As soon as I get my coat hung up, I'll start making it. Do you want to watch tv or something?" I ask over my shoulder as I start unbuttoning my overcoat. 

 

"No, I prefer conversation, unless you want to turn it on."

 

"Oh, no. I like conversation a lot more, even though nobody talks to me much."

 

"Why is that? You don't seem to have anything bad about you."

 

I slide my coat over my shoulders and hang it up on the rack, placing my keys on the little table near the door again. A small voice in the back of my mind makes me stop. I feel like I'm forgetting something, but as I check the pockets of the coat and find nothing, I feel at a loss.

 

"I mean, you're being nice to m- uhhhh, (Y/n)? Wait, don't tell me, it's because of your tattoos?"

 

"A-ah, yeah...?" I immediately wonder how he could know without me telling him, but write it off as only coincidence in the moment. As I turn around to face him, I begin to feel confused. He sits completely rigid in place, and his face is extremely red, his eyes flicking around the room to rest on my legs for a second, then my face, and then he turns his whole head around.

 

"(Y-Y/n)?"

 

"What's wrong...?"

 

"You... seem to be um... missing some clothing."

 

I feel my heart literally stop in my chest. How the fuck did I forget something so important as not wearing fucking pants under my coat? I really don't know.

 

"Pinch me, I have to be fucking dreaming." I say in disbelief and anger. "In fact, I am dreaming. This day couldn't get any worse. But at least it turned out somewhat alright..." I grumble.

 

I walk back to my bedroom and yank a pair of pajama shorts out of my dresser drawer and jerk them up my legs, then take a hairband from my wrist and tug my hair up into a high ponytail. I then stomp back into the living room, and then to the kitchen, angrily throwing coffee beans into a filter and sloshing water into the coffee machine.

 

As soon as I press the on button on the machine, my anger fades away to only slight embarrassment. I turn back somewhat worriedly to Shizuo, who I find to be looking thoughtfully at me. I sigh, running a hand through my hair before walking over and joining Shizuo on the couch.

 

"I'm... I'm sorry. It's just- it's been one of those days...."

 

"I understand." He laughs. I feel it warm my heart. Even after seeing my tattoos, he still hasn't run away yet. You see, tattoos in Japan basically mean that you are either a prostitute or involved with gangs and drug lords. Trust me, I'm not involved (or have ever been involved) with either.

 

"I know this sounds weird, but thanks for not, you know, jumping to conclusions and running away and stuff. I can explain the tattoos if you would like..." The end of my sentence turns a bit muffled, my fingers tracing along the tail of a black and red Chinese dragon curled up on the top of my thigh.

 

"Yeah, if you don't mind. Just while we wait on the coffee."

 

I turn my gaze to meet Shizuo's with a grin. Nobody has ever really wanted to know about the tattoos besides the rumors, just because they are scared of me. And to add on to the fear of just the tattoos, they aren't regular, everyday body tattoos. They move around my body for some reason.

 

"Well, I've had at least one tattoo since I can remember. For some reason, a new one appears every two years on my birthday. They just... show up on my skin."

 

"So, then why are people as afraid of you from what I hear on the streets?"

 

"O-oh, you hear about that? Well... they move around my skin."

 

Shizuo does a double take, then looks at me with doubt, but when I keep a straight face, a little spark lights up in his eyes.

 

"Wait, they seriously move? Are you kidding?" He asks incredulously.

 

I smirk and look back down at the Chinese dragon, stroking its mane and raking my nails along its back softly. It shudders at first, then opens its bright golden red eyes and turns its head to look at me curiously. He then stretches his body and arms out in front of him, flicking his fan like tail against my fingertip playfully before slinking up my fingers, his lithe body winding around my arm, eyeing Shizuo suspiciously, before crawling up my neck and nestling in right behind my ear, playing with another tattoo of a world globe, spinning the little ball around curiously.

 

Shizuo stares in shock at the dragon, who I can feel turn his head and look at Shizuo.

 

"Can they, like, hurt people at all?"

 

I beam at the question. I'm amazed that he hasn't taken off running by now. Either he is insane, or he's seen his fair share of insane shit.

 

"If I make the little dragon mad, he nips at my finger, and it hurts sometimes, but I don't know if he can hurt anyone else."

 

"I, don't know what to say... that's just... cool."

 

"Nobody has ever told me that before." I mutter thoughtfully. A smile plays on my lips, and the dragon purrs thoughtfully into my ear. It causes me to laugh quietly. Very rarely, the dragon will climb up next to my ear and whisper advice when I need it, and he is some of the reason why people are so afraid of me- because he likes to crawl around all the time in public.

 

"I mean it, it's not like I have any right to judge you for being different. I already hate when anyone else does it to me."

 

I cock my head at his statement. "What do you mean?"

 

"Well, I have extreme strength. "

 

I lower my eyes and look at him skeptically, but he keeps a straight face. I can't help but feel like this is how he felt a few minutes ago.

 

"Prove it." I push with a teasing smile.

 

"Find me something to break, and I will." He playfully quips, accepting the challenge wholeheartedly.

 

I grin and look around the room, settling on a huge ass telephone book that I stuck into a bookshelf with a bunch of other dollar store romance novels and encyclopedias. I push myself off of the couch and pad across the tatami mats and over to the shelf, pulling the extremely thick book out and cradling it in my arms.

 

"Will this do?" I struggle to say as I wobble back over to the couch and slam it down on his lap, falling haphazardly into his lap along with it. I look up into his eyes with a flustered look, and try to get my arms out from under the book, but end up giving up.

 

"Yeah this will do, and if you wanted to be in my lap so badly, you should have just said so." Shizuo smirks as he incites a huge blush on my face.

 

"Fine, if you can tear that in half twice, I'll think about it." I shoot right back at him, reveling in victory as I pull an equally hearty blush to his ears. He looks a little mad for a second and I almost apologize, but end up just watching.

 

Shizuo picks the phone book up off of my arms, allowing me to sit back, then takes one side and completely rips the whole book in half like it is a single piece of tissue paper. My jaw drops as he places the two rectangular stacks on top of each other and tears them in half again with barely any effort. Shizuo looks down at me smugly and leans down towards me, scaring me half to death before I realize that he is just putting the torn book on the small coffee table behind me, though he stays in front of my face for a second.

 

"So what did you say about being in my lap?" He whispers, his breath lightly gracing my lips.

 

"I-I-I said I wo-would think about it, not that I ac-actually w-would..." I stammer.

 

He laughs loudly and sits back against the back of the couch comfortably. "I'm kidding. Don't get so worked up about it." He reassures me, peering down at me through half lowered eyelids.

 

"Ha, be careful or I might tell the dragon to set you on fire!" I poke fun at him and punch his knee lightly before pushing myself up off of the floor.

 

"If you could actually do that I'd be more impressed than mad." He tilts his head up to lazily look at me from out of the corner of his eye.

 

"I think I can," I place a finger under my chin and say mostly to myself, "I just don't want to set my apartment on fire... yet." My lips turn up and my eyes meet his again at the last word.

 

"Well, then you have to promise to show me one day."

 

"Are you saying you want to meet up again?" I turn and walk back to the kitchen, making sure he still sees me while I go to pour the coffee so he knows I'm still listening.

 

"I'd like that, wouldn't you?"

 

I open my mouth to say something, but then stop and think. This is actually the first time someone has asked to see me again. I bite my lip in thought as I pour the coffee in two mugs near the machine and feel a heat in my chest as I start to feel a bit giddy about the next time we might see each other.

 

I come out of my thoughts as I hear him uncomfortably shift on the couch, and turn around with both cups in hand. "Oh, u-uh sorry. Yeah, I'd like that too." I say sheepishly as I make my way back over to the couch. I hand him his cup and carefully sit myself next to him as not to spill our coffee.

 

We both sit in silence for a minute, listening to the rain pattering on the window and roof. I softly blow at my coffee to absentmindedly cool it down, staring forward at the blank TV.

 

"Does it... bother you, being called a monster?" I whisper into my cup, directing it towards Shizuo.

 

"Yeah... you?"

 

"Yeah... I... nobody really wants to get to know you past that..."

 

Shizuo nods and takes a small sip from his cup. I bring my legs up and cross them under me, suddenly losing my desire for drinking coffee and staring hopelessly into the inky black liquid.

 

"I'm actually really thankful that you're here. Honestly, this is the best thing that's happened to me in weeks." I woefully grin and set my cup down on the coffee table.

 

"I am too." Shizuo takes one last drink and sets his coffee on the table.

 

"I actually think it's funny... being called a monster, when there are so many regular people that deserve the title a lot more." I turn and meet his eyes, resting my elbows on my legs and leaning my head on them solemnly. "I feel like, if someone were to really... get to know me for who I am- to love me for who I am... I would finally be able to accept all of this." I wiggle my toes a little and watch as a tattoo of a kitten yawns and stretches its paws out, then hops off of a little stack of books it was laying on, and paws at them curiously, jumping after one as it flutters its pages and takes off flying around my ankle.

 

"I feel the same way. To be treated like a normal person... loved like a normal person... that's all I want." Shizuo places his arms along the back of the couch, closing his eyes and leaning back with a sad sigh.

 

I turn my head and stare at him, tracing the lines of his throat and the places where his white button up shirt and wrinkled dress pants pull taught. "Ah, I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make it so... depressing, I just haven't been able to, you know, talk to anyone... Didn't mean to dump that all on you." I stammer bashfully. I suddenly realize just how close we are to each other as he opens his eyes and leans forward again to meet my gaze.

 

"It's fine, I needed to talk about it too."

 

We stare into each other's eyes for what seems like forever, and I don't realize we're leaning towards each other until I can feel our breath intermixing between us, our breathing soft and hesitant. I see him raise his hand out of the corner of my eye, feeling a warm tingling sensation as I feel him lay it at the crook of my jaw, lightly caressing the soft, sensitive skin of my neck.

 

I push forward a little more, pulling my legs behind me and raising my own hand to rest my hand delicately on his shoulder, flicking my eyes away for a second, then meeting his stare one last time before closing my eyes and lightly pushing my lips onto his.

 

We stay still, just barely touching each other for a minute, reveling in the hot, comforting feeling of one another. He is the first one to tilt his head and brush against my nose, deepening the kiss a little more. I cautiously wrap my arm around his back, playing with his hair with the tips of my fingers as I pull away a little to take a small breath before coming back to meet his lips again.

 

Shizuo places his other hand on the rise of my hipbone, his large palm cupping my side in a way that feels like it was made for that exact purpose. I rise off of my knees a little bit and swing my left leg around his lap, then lightly rest myself down on the middle of his thighs.

 

My suck in a sharp breath as I feel his hand move from my hip down along the curve of my ass, brushing against a bit of exposed skin and pulling me forward with a gentle bit of force. I unintentionally moan into his mouth as my chest brushes against his, loving the way he is pulling at my hips and lightly fingering the lip of the fabric along the leg hole of my pajama pants. I swipe my tongue along his lips out of instinct, my body aching with tension, and the need to deepen the kiss as essential as breathing. Shizuo opens his mouth, and meets my tongue, sweeping the tip along the side of my own, making me shudder in ecstasy. 

 

Suddenly, Shizuo yanks his hand back, pulling out of my mouth. I open my eyes fearfully, wondering why he jerked away from me, but when I look at his hand, I almost laugh when I see three little scratch marks on his pointer finger, the little lines filling with tiny beads of blood.

 

I turn my body to look at the back of my thigh and can't help but laugh as I see the tiny little kitten sitting there with its ears flattened on the back of its head and its tail flicking around playfully, the book it was chasing earlier hanging from its tiny maw. I turn back to Shizuo with a sympathetic look to see him sticking his finger into his mouth.

 

"Well, I guess we proved that theory." He mumbles with his finger in his mouth.

 

"I'm so sorry, I didn't think that would happen!"

 

Shizuo chuckles lightly and places his hands back on my hips, taking his finger out of his mouth. I smirk at him and lean forward, pecking him on the lips lightly before pushing myself up off of the couch. He looks up at me with a fake pouty lip, but I just smile and roll my eyes, grabbing my now lukewarm cup of coffee and walking back to the kitchen. I grab a medicine kit from a cabinet and walk back to the couch, kneeling in front of him and grabbing his hand. I take a small bandage from the box and put a little disinfectant on it before wrapping it around his cut finger.

 

"Alright, you're done."

 

He smirks and opens his mouth to say something, but I interrupt him.

 

"Ah ah, keep all the pussy jokes to yourself, please." I laugh and get up off of the floor.

 

"Damn, that's harsh. It was a good one too." He grins and pushes himself off of the couch to stand next to me. I place my hands on my hips and shake my head at him playfully. "But, I do have one serious question."  
"Okay, shoot." I down the last of my coffee and hold the empty cup against my hip.

 

"Will you go out with me tomorrow night?"

 

I laugh and nod my head. "Yeah, where are you thinking about going?"

 

Shizuo picks up his coffee mug and drinks the rest of it before sighing in bliss. "Do you like sushi?"

 

I beam at him and nod.

 

"There's a little sushi place in downtown Ikebukero that I know. Russia Sushi? I know the owner, and can get a big discount for the both of us."

 

"Sounds like a plan. How about 7 PM?"

 

"Perfect."

 

We both start to walk towards the door, and I watch as he pulls his vest back over his shoulders and lets it hang off of them lightly. He shoves his bow tie into his pants pocket and then runs a hand deftly through his hair.

 

"Can I get your phone number?"

 

I grin and turn to the small desk by the door, opening a drawer and scribbling my number on a notepad before ripping the page and handing it to him.

 

He looks at it for a second, then takes out his phone and punches in the number for my contact.

 

"I need to put a picture in for you." He states.

 

I take the phone out of his hand and stand on my tiptoes, kissing him lightly, then snap a picture of us. He stares at me in surprise as I set the picture as my contact photo and hand it back to him.

 

"See you tomorrow?" I say hopefully.

 

"You can count on it, (Y/n)." He leans down and kisses my forehead lightly, then hands me his mug and slides on his shoes. Exiting my door with a soft smile.

 

I stand there for a few seconds, then a smile wedges its way onto my lips. I half walk, half skip back over to the couch and place the coffee cups down, then fall onto the couch with a dreamy sigh. I can't wait until tomorrow comes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey guys, I hope you like this 6,700 word chapter. It ends in a little bit of sauciness, but I think I'm gonna make a "detailed" chapter after this that you can skip if you want, but then put a regular chapter after that that skips all the *ahem* you know and resumes the plot. Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and still keep commenting and kudo-ing my story!
> 
> Warning: Light alcohol use.

I don't exactly know when I fell asleep, but more than anything right now, I'm regretting those cups of herbal tea. And oh have they kicked in alright, just a long ass time after they were supposed to.

I carefully push myself up into a sitting position and set my feet on the floor without banging my foot on the table, my eyes hazy and my head foggy. I place a hand on my temple and rub my right eyelid a couple of times to knock some of the dust away before yawning and stretching my arms above my head.  
"Mmh, what time is it?" I grumble to myself through half-lidded eyes.

I look over at the clock on the microwave, and feel my heart jump in my chest as I see that I'm over twenty minutes late, but end up relaxing again and resting my elbows on my knees, holding my head in my hands.

'Well, there's no point in rushing there now- I'm already screwed.'

I wait a few more seconds to let my head clear up before steadily rising to my feet. I pick up the two cups I left on the coffee table the night before and shuffle over to the sink, glancing at the coffee maker and sighing when I see some leftover coffee in the pot.

I rinse out my cup and set it in front of the maker before pouring the day old coffee into the cup. Yeah, I know that it will taste really crappy, but it's coffee and I need a boost of caffeine right now. Either that or a shot of bourbon.

At that thought, I sleepily grin and open one of my overhead cabinets, then pull out a bottle of Jim Beam. I pour a small bit into the cup, then thinking about it for a second, I pour just a little more in. Happy with my amount, I put the bottle back into the cabinet and take a drink from the cup, cringing a little as the first drink wakes me up almost instantly.

Finishing my cup while looking outside of the window, I see little streams of people walking around; from people out to do some early morning shopping trips to business men and women making their way to their work buildings for their shift. Something clicks in my mind as I see a young man and woman laughing and grinning at each other while holding hands as they make their way down the street.

I just feel like I'm forgetting something or someone-

Dear lord how could I forget Shizuo? I look down at the cup in the sink with bewilderment as I remember getting to know him last night.

My eyes snap open just a little wider as I run to my room to get my phone, remembering that he asked for my number. I throw apart my bed sheets before finding my phone under my pillow, then snatching it up from the bedspread and flipping onto my back.

Sure enough, there are a couple of messages from an unknown number that pop up on my home screen, and I feel my heart puttering in my chest with hope.

As I read his messages, I grin and put his number in my contacts list.

Shizuo (at 6: 28 AM): Thought I should text you so you can put my number in your phone. I'm Shizuo, if I put in the right number.

Shizuo (at 6:34 AM): Heading to work now. Can't wait to see you tonight. :)

(Y/n) (at 7: 57 AM): You have the right number, and I can't wait to see you either. ;)

As I hit the send button, a little bit of shock goes through me. I feel a little bit of worry as I wonder if my message was a little too girly, or flirty, or if he would take it the wrong way. I feel confused, just because I don't usually care about what I say to people, and this is a first for me.

My screen lights up again with a new message, and I feel a little bit of hope again, but as I look at the message I groan.

Yaraza Sakuchi (at 7:58 AM): You better get your ass here. Our sales pitch meeting just got moved to 8:20. And you better not let one of those tattoos show during our meeting or I will personally make sure you will never have a job again. -Yaraza

I grit my teeth and throw my phone on the bed before rushing around to put on my work clothes and make myself look presentable.

 

Time Skip

 

After a grueling few hours of work, three cups of coffee, an almost moldy doughnut, and fourteen shitty remarks, I finally get to slump onto a couch and take a nap.

I don't bother to take my coat off at the door and throw my keys on the table against the wall before stumbling forward and slamming the door behind me with way too much force.

I shuffle my feet forward a few steps and yank my coat off of my shoulders before letting it pool around my feet. I then unbutton my work pants and let them fall a couple of steps after the coat, and slump forward on the couch with a loud "oof".

I lazily look at the microwave clock, and sigh happily as I read it as 6: 23. I have at least ten minutes to just lay here and rest.

After a good few heavenly minutes of just laying there with my eyes closed and my heartbeat steadily pounding in my ears, I groan as I make myself get back up.

I look back at the clock to make sure that I am good on time, then go back into my room and pull off my button up shirt. I look around in my closet before pulling out a cute white summer dress, and then pull it over my head to see how it looks. I walk back into my bathroom and look into my mirror thoughtfully before feeling a liiiitle too dressy for sushi.

I walk back to my closet and throw the dress back on my bed before pulling out a simple grey, v-neck t-shirt and slipping it over my head. I leaf through a few pairs of pants before settling on a pair of dusty rose gold colored jeans. I slip them up my legs and do a little hop-dance thing to get them up to my hips, then fasten the button and walk back to the mirror.

I feel satisfied with the outfit, so I put on a simple gold necklace and some studs, then unpin my hair and let it flow down over my shoulders in soft curls.

I put on just a little bit of makeup, then walk out of the door to slip some heeled brown boots on over some socks. I sigh in satisfaction with my look, then walk back into the main room to check the time. I look up at the time with a grin and grab that bottle of bourbon out of the cabinet again, taking a swig for good luck, then rush towards the door. I throw my strewn pants onto my bed, and then grab my purse before snatching my keys and heading out of the door with an excited grin glued to my face.

 

Time Skip

 

I look up at the little sushi place, then down at the GPS on my phone, then up at the huge Russian man trying to hand me a flier.

"You come to Russia Sushi. It is best sushi you taste in Ikebukuro!"

"Ah, um, this is Russia Sushi?" I say a bit embarrassedly as I point up at the building.

"Da, you come inside?"

"O-oh, yeah."

He turns around with a large smile and walks me into the small restaurant. I immediately look around in wonder, seeing as there are so many people talking from table to table as if they all know each other like close friends. I readjust my purse a little uncomfortably as I look around for Shizuo, but can't find him.

"You look for someone, da?"

I jump as I realize the large man never left. I quickly nod my head and pull my arms a bit closer to my body, hoping that nobody sees my tattoos. I should have worn my coat.

"Yeah, um, Shizuo? Do you know him?"

"Ah, a pretty girl looking for Shizuo? I am surprise!"

At that comment, almost all of the heads in the room turn to look at me and the very large Russian man. My eyes widen in fear, and I remember a couple of bad memories from grade school when the class would purposely watch me walk to my desk, and also out of the room when the bell rang just to purposely make it clear that I would never be a part of them.

I back up a few steps and hold my arms tighter against my chest, thinking it was a really bad idea to leave my home and just prance right into the heart of Ikebukuro like nothing was going to happen.

As I back up, I only slightly hear the door open behind me, and end up backing right into the hard chest of the person who walked into the door. I jump and whirl around with fear and shock, only to almost laugh and cry at the same time.

"(Y/n), are you okay?"

I feel myself move before I can really think, and all of the sudden, I have my arms tightly wrapped around Shizuo's torso. He feels stiff for a second, but then relaxes and places his hand on my back.

"Simon, did you scare her?" Shizuo asks accusatively as I hug him for a few more seconds before letting go. I immediately notice that he isn't in his bartender outfit, but a white tank top and a grey collared jacket with somewhat tight fitting tan pants. He also seems to have left his glasses at home.

"No, we walk in and she mention Shizuo. People curious, and she get scared."

Shizuo nods with understanding, and then places a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

"I can get us a private room in the back if you want." He turns to me and says. I can see a glimmer of worry show through his eyes, and I instantly feel better.

"O-oh, sure." I mumble towards him, and he nods.

Shizuo looks at Simon, and Simon nods, leading us towards a room in the back of the restaurant. I feel a bit queasy as some of the conversation starts back up around us, but I still feel eyes on my back.

As we reach the room, I look around in awe. I haven't really been out to eat much because of my tattoos and people knowing me around where I live. If I walk in, people either glare at me the whole time, or I just get kicked out altogether.

"Do... you like it?" Shizuo asks.

"Oh, yeah." I respond, shaking my head to clear my thoughts a little and smiling at him.

He gives me a light smile back, then sits down at the table in the middle of the room. I quickly join him on the other side, and look around a bit more.

"So, I can order you something if you want, but usually Simon just brings in a whole bunch of whatever we want for the same price."

"Well, I really don't know what I want, I've only had sushi once."

"Really?" Shizuo asks incredulously.

"Really, really." I playfully grin.

Simon walks back in with a huge smile and sets a wooden platter on the table between us. Then sets a couple of cups of tea next to us.

"Enjoy sushi, Shizuo and pretty lady." Simon gives Shizuo a little sideways wink before walking out of the room again.

A small blush rises to Shizuo's ears from Simon winking at him, causing me to laugh a little.

"So, what do you do for a living?" I ask as I pick up my chopsticks and break them apart.

"Oh, I'm sort of a bodyguard for Tom. He's a debt collector for some of the shadiest people in Ikebukuro, so I help with the... 'heavy lifting'. What about you?" He asks as he pops a piece of crab into his mouth.

"I'm a project manager at a little company downtown. We do a lot of pitches of medical inventions to other companies."

"Sounds cool."

"Yeah, if my co-workers weren't such assholes it would be."

Shizuo nods in understanding as he chews another piece of sushi. I pick up a piece of salmon and lay it on my tongue fish side down, shuddering a little at the strong taste. I finish chewing and smile at him, laughing as his cheeks puff out a little as he tries to smile with his mouth full.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, why do you wear a bartender's outfit if you're a bodyguard for a debt collector?"

"Ah, it's a bit of a long story. I would bore you if I told you."

"Please, you wouldn't bore me if you recited a laundry list for ten minutes."

"Oh really, fine. I need to wash a couple of sweat shirts, some dress pants-"

I cut him off as I laugh at him joking with me. He gives me a slight smile before he puts another piece of sushi in his mouth. I wait patiently as he finishes, sipping at my tea.

"Do you know Yuuhei Hanajima?"

"Yeah, I think so. That really hot movie idol that's kinda mysterious and calm, but still pretty cute?"

"Yeah. He's my brother."

I choke on a little bit of my tea. "What?"

Shizuo smirks but disregards my description of his brother. "Yeah, and when I worked as a bartender, he got me a whole bunch of those outfits to say something like 'I'm glad you settled down, I hope you have a good life'. But I got fired from that job, so I wear them anyway."

"To show gratitude back to your brother?"

"Something like that."

"That... happened to me once, except it didn't end very well." I mutter with a bit of a sad tone in my voice. I stare at the edge of the table with a somber expression, biting the inside of my cheek.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." My eyes snap up to Shizuo's, who is looking at me with a polite and thoughtful semi-grin.

"Shizuo is lucky man. I not see him smile since move here."

Both of us almost jump out of our skin as we look up at the door to see Simon smiling his ass off with another wooden plate of sushi.

Both of us turn our heads away in slight embarrassment. I pick my tea up to busy myself with something and take a sip.

"Ah, do not be nervous. Sushi is good for breaking of ice. Also good aphrodisiac. Eat more sushi."

I choke on my tea again, sputtering at Simon's words. I place my cup back on the table so I don't spill it, and feel my eyes water from coughing and cheeks warming from embarrassment.

"Ah, aphrodisiac working, I leave now." He laughs with another huge smile before winking again and leaving the room.

As soon as I get done coughing, I start laughing. Shizuo has half of his face hidden behind his cup, and his eyes are shifted as far to the right as possible as to avoid looking at me.

After a little bit, he laughs with me too.

"So, what were we talking about again?" I ask as I wipe a small tear away from my eyes.

"You said something about how you related to me and my brother?"

"Oh, yeah..." I look away for a second with a frown before looking back at Shizuo, "...my mother- she used to crochet me little things out of yarn. She... made me this scarf to wear to school, and I didn't like it that much, but with I wore it every day for about a week to show my gratitude to my mother. One day, I got about halfway to school before passing out, and I woke up in the hospital with doctors telling me that I had been inhaling some type of pesticide from the scarf and it almost killed me. It was a miracle that I was alive. My mother skipped town as soon as the hospital called her, and I never saw her again, but I looked through a notebook she kept around, and she had done it on purpose because I was reflecting badly on her, and she didn't want me anymore." I cross my arms on the table with a frown and take the last sip from my cup of tea.

"That-" I hear anger rising in Shizuo's tone, and see his hand gripping his chopsticks so tight, I can hear them breaking. I look back into his eyes, and watch as his anger fades away. "I can't believe someone would do that to you."

Shizuo sets his chopsticks down on the table and looks away a little with a frown. I reach across the table before I can really think, and lay my hand down on top of his.

"It's okay, it's part of the reason I am who I am today." I reassure him. He turns hand upwards and lightly grips my own hand with a smile.

We stay like this for about a minute before I squeeze his hand and lean back to my side of the table.

"Well, on a lighter note, are you free after this?" Shizuo cocks his head a little, which I find to be incredibly cute.

"Here let me check my schedule." I hold my finger to my temple, pretending to think for a second before laughing at Shizuo's curiously hopeful expression. "Yeah I'm definitely free. Tomorrow's Saturday, so we can stay out as late as we want; I don't have to get up early. So, what are you planning?"

"Well, I was wondering... if you would like to go on a motorcycle ride around the city with me?"

My eyes light up. I've never been on a motorcycle before, but I've always wanted to ride one. "Yeah, that sounds awesome!" I exclaim a little too excitedly, blushing a little when he laughs at my enthusiasm.

"We can go after we eat this last plate of sushi, how does that sound?"

I nod, and pick up a california roll, popping it into my mouth with a contented grin. He eats a couple more, then I eat the last one, feeling comfortably full and happy.

"I'll go up and pay, then we can head off, okay?"

"Alright, but next time I'm paying."

I push myself up from the table and put my purse on my shoulder before following him out of the little room. As we exit, I can still feel a few eyes on us, but most of the customers have left already.

"1000 yen." Simon tells Shizuo with a smile.

I do a double take. For the sushi we had, we should probably be paying about two times as much as that. Shizuo looks like it is the most normal thing ever and hands Simon a 1000 yen note from his wallet. I stare at the two of them incredulously, but don't say anything.

"Alright, you treat the pretty lady with kindness in heart, Shizuo?"

Shizuo nods and turns to me, before walking out with me. I stay behind him and wave to Simon, who grins widely and waves back. We walk through the doors and make our way down the crowded sidewalk to our left.

"Do you know who the black rider is?"

"I... can't say that I do."

"Well, you'll be in for a surprise then. I think you'll like her. She's a good friend of mine, and she owes me a favor, so she's letting us take Shooter out."

"Who's Shooter?"

"Her... uh, motorcycle? But you could call it a horse too, so I don't really know what to call it."

"A horse? Why would you call it that?"

"It's a little hard to explain, so I'll have her show you when we get there." He turns and grins at me with a reassuring smile.

I busy myself with looking around at the bright city lights and still open shops as the sun slips just past the horizon and the sky starts to darken. The streetlamps flick on, and people start to turn on their headlights around us, the city bathing us in many different colors of bright light.

"We're almost there. See that random skyscraper over there- you know, the one that sticks up out of the other smaller buildings?"

I look to where he is pointing and instantly recognize the building. Back when I worked as a doctor full-time, I used to live there. Unfortunately, I got fired from that job because the patients started fearing for their lives after being treated by one of the "Yakuza". So in turn, I had to move out for lack of serious income.

"Ah I see it, I used to live there. 6th floor, right under a bit of an odd couple. The woman used to ride a motorcycle... down the stairs- don't tell me your friend lives on the seventh floor." I say with a little bit of excitement and astonishment. I knew Celty, she would come down and drink coffee with me if I was having a bad day. She just always had a weird way of sensing things.

"Yeah, she's the black rider. Shinra and Celty have lived here for quite some time. They help a lot of people out of some bad situations around here."

"Wow, small world huh?"

"Yeah, definitely."

We walk next to each other in silence for a minute, just enjoying each other's company without any words. I move a little closer to him as a couple of rowdy young kids walk by and bump me a little without noticing, and I feel my hand brush against his. We both look down at our hands, then into each other's eyes before clasping our hands together and looking away with slight embarrassment.

I feel my heart warm in my chest, and the semi-cold air from the fall weather enters my lungs to mix with it in an odd, but comforting feeling that seems to make my whole body feel tingly with butterflies. I laugh a little, and squeeze his hand with a smile permanently etched on my face.  
We eventually make it there, and don't let go of each other's hands until we exit the elevator up at the seventh floor apartment. Shizuo walks up to the door and looks back at me for a second before knocking on the door.

I hear a rather loud noise and then a shout of "I'm coming" before a small argument that seems to be between the speaker and somebody else that stays quiet, but then someone walks up to the door with a bit of a quick step.

The door opens wide to reveal Celty, and I feel my smile get a little bit wider as she looks at Shizuo and I with silent excitement before rushing past him and hugging me. I laugh as she flips out her phone and quickly types something, then erases it, then types something else before showing it to me.

'How are you? It's been ages! And when did you two meet, has he been treating you okay? He can be a bit reckless at times. If he's getting on your nerves I'll beat him up for you.'

"Haha, relax Celty! I'm fine, I missed you, and," I lean in next to her helmet and lower my voice to a whisper, "he's been treating me really well, but we only met yesterday, chill out. He's really sweet."

She furiously types something into her phone, and out of the corner of my eye I see Shizuo lean into the door and shake his head at something with amusement.

'That's good, you need to come by more often. I don't have anybody to drink coffee with anymore besides Shinra, and you know that there's no such thing as "relaxing" with him. Anyway, come on in for a minute.'

I laugh at her, and place a friendly hand on her shoulder before following her inside. Shizuo follows me in, and gives me a curious look before following me in. 

Celty snaps her fingers, and I hear something fall to the floor in the other room.

"Celty, that wasn't nice! I want to see who she is!"

Shinra comes bolting around the corner with a huge smile, then stops in his tracks and looks like he blows a fuse, but you know, in a good way.

"Oh my god! (Y/n) it's you! We haven't seen you in forever!" Shinra rushes forward and almost crushes me in a hug, and I almost laugh as I see a little jealous look flash across Shizuo's face, but I can't breathe.

Shinra lets go of me, and I take a huge breath to fill my lungs before chuckling at his enthusiasm. Shinra holds my shoulders and grins like a maniac before a thought flashes across his face.

"Oh, I have those birth control pills we talked about. Discounted price, just like you wanted, and have a higher effect than the ones you take now. And I figure you need these now more than ever." He winks at me without even a hint of embarrassment on his face.

My face practically sets on fire at the comment, and my eyes widen. Celty face palms her helmet and jerks Shinra back by the shoulder. She furiously types on her phone and shoves it in his face.

"But, sex is a normal thing. It's good for the body and helpful in anyone's lifestyle if done the right way! You know that more than anybody." He also winks at Celty who is probably rolling her eyes under her helmet. I cross my arm across my chest and hide my face behind my other hand.

"But she shouldn't be embarrassed! It's a normal thing! I was just letting them know that they can go at it-" Celty grips her phone tightly in her hand and slams her other hand over Shinra's mouth before shaking her head in a strict warning.

She types on her phone with apologetic way of holding herself, and hold our phone out to us.  
Sorry guys, you know he has no filter.

"Myef I voo." He mumbles through her hand, and she stomps on his foot to get him to shut up. 

Well, I think that's enough visiting for right now, I can go bring Shooter down for you.

She turns back to Shinra and holds her finger up to her mouth before letting go of him. He opens his mouth, but then thinks against it and just waves to us as we exit the door.

Shizuo and I take the elevator down to the bottom floor, then watch from the street and through the windows in the stairwell of the apartment building as Celty rides her motorcycle down the stairs.

She comes to an abrupt stop right next to us, and puts her kickstand down before throwing her leg back over the seat of the motorcycle. And honestly, it's one of the most beautiful and sleek bike designs that I have ever seen.

'I told him to take you to all of the prettiest places in Ikebukuro.' Celty shows her phone to Shizuo, who nods.

"Thanks again, but could you explain a little about Shooter to (Y/n)? I don't want her to freak out."

She nods and types on her phone again.

'Shooter is my familliar, his original form is a horse, but I usually ride him in the form of a motorcycle in the city because it is more... mainstream. He'll take you anywhere you want to go, okay?'

At that, the bike whinnies and lets out a puff of exhaust before revving its engine and scaring the hell out of me. Celty looks like she laughs, then pets the seat of the motorcycle before looking at Shizuo and nodding her head towards the seat. I want to ask more, but I want to get on with riding on Shooter a bit more, so I note asking her about him later.

He swings his leg over and pats the side of the bike before holding out his hand. I take it, and hesitantly swing myself over the seat of the bike, laughing a little as the engine hums a little louder.

Celty comes up behind me and taps my shoulder, handing me an onyx black helmet that matches hers with cat ears at the top. She also hands Shizuo one, but it's just a regular black helmet.

'Okay you two, have fun!' Celty shows us the phone, then holds her hands up against her chest in little fists and does a small, excited dance before typing '<3' into her phone and getting out of our way.

Shooter whinnies again, and I wrap my arms around Shizuo's middle a little hesitantly, then scoot a bit closer to him.

"Okay, Shooter."

Shooter revs, then takes off, the rush of air blowing my hair over my shoulder and the bike letting the wind around us brush softly at my skin. I grip onto Shizuo a little tighter at first, the relax a little as Shooter turns into a less than crowded city road and weaves between the cars; the bright lights of the buildings rushing past us in little blurs of color.

We ride past monuments and large buildings that tower over the city, with Shizuo sometimes pointing at little landmarks and explaining them at stoplights before we take off again. 

A small group of three kids wave to us from the sidewalk, one of them a young boy with dyed blonde hair, another one of them a shy looking black haired girl that lightly waves at us, and another regular looking kid that smiles instead of waving. Shooter lets out his semi-neigh/revving noise and shocks me by doing a small wheelie, which makes the three of them laugh.

"Who were they?" I ask Shizuo as we pass them and my heart calms down a little.

"A few kids that go to Raira that most of us know around here. They're a bit of an odd bunch, and a little misguided sometimes, but nice kids."

"Cool."

Shizuo pats the right handlebar of the bike, and Shooter promptly turns down a street full of small condos. He then slows to a stop right outside a small, two level flat and kicks out the kickstand.

"Where are we?"

"I needed to get something from my apartment real quick, you can come in if you want, but I'm warning you it's a little messy."

"Yeah, sure." I grin and move myself off of the motorcycle, laying the helmet on the seat of the bike. "Um, will it be safe to leave these here unattended?" I look at him for a second, then face palm. "Oh right, that was a bit of a stupid question."

"Don't worry about it- this takes a bit of getting used to."

"Yeah. Sorry Shooter." He revs again and lets out a bit of exhaust before turning his handlebars away in what I think is a bashful look.

I look back to Shizuo to see that he has gone on ahead, and is up on the second floor, already unlocking his front door. I follow after him up the stairs, and then make my way into the apartment, closing the door behind me. It isn't dirty at all except for a couple of shirts hung over the back of his couch.

"So, I was thinking about taking you up to the bridge on the West side. You can see all of the lights in the city, and even some stars from there- ...sorry, that sounds a little stupid. We don't have to go if you don't want to."

"No, it sounds fun. I used to be really into Astronomy back when I was younger. I even have a vibrantly colored tattoo of the Lagoon Nebula on my lower back, but it moves around to my arm sometimes if the clouds swirl around enough."

He makes a noise to let me know that he hears me and grabs something from inside his bedroom right across from us, then walks back in. In his hand is a small bouquet of white roses and orchids mixed with colors of dark blue and purple.

"I saw some of these on the back of your neck, and Tom told me that I should get you flowers, so, um, here."

I laugh and walk forward to meet him in the center of the room, then wrap my hand around his over the still wet stems. I look up into his eyes with a bright smile and lean up, softly kissing him on the mouth and surprising him a bit before pulling away only a slightly so I can look him in the eyes.

"I love them, thank you." I mumble onto his lips.

"No... problem..." He half whispers like he is a bit out of breath.

I pull back and let the heels of my feet touch back down on the floor.

"Come on, before people start turning out their lights." I giggle and walk backwards towards the door, placing the small bouquet in my purse. He shakes his head at himself with a smile, and walks after me, locking the door behind him.

We get back on Shooter, and Shizuo tells him where to go. In mere minutes, we're going up the ramp that leads to the bridge. Not many cars are out at this hour, so we have most of the ramp to ourselves, Shooter stopping at the place where the ramp ends and the bridge begins.

I stare in awe at the city. The city lights look like little pinpoints of color that blend into the stars that peek through the dense clouds.

"It's beautiful..." I mutter as Shizuo turns to sit facing the city completely.

"I thought you might like it. And, I swiped something before we left if you want some."  
I look over at Shizuo as he tilts an unopened bottle of Captain Morgan towards me. I give him a sly grin and take the bottle from him.

"We only just met, and you know me so well." I smirk and twist off the cap, taking a large drink before handing it back to him. "And I guess we don't have to worry about a designated driver if the vehicle drives itself." I wonder aloud.

He nods and tilts his head back a bit to take a drink. I stare at his body again while he has his attention elsewhere and scoot a little closer to him on the seat.

He puts the bottle between his thighs to stretch his arms above him, and I take the opportunity to innocently pick the bottle up from between his legs and "accidentally" brush my hand along the zipper of his pants.

He stops stretching and freezes, and I almost burst out laughing as he gives me a shocked sideways glance, but manage to hold it in to really sell it. I do accidentally let a smirk slip as I meet his eyes.

Shizuo turns the corner of his lips up and lightly laughs through his nose before lowering his arms again and nonchalantly placing his right hand on the middle of my left thigh and squeezing.

"We can play this game here, or we can go back to one of our apartments and continue there." Shizuo mumbles in a bit of a deeper tone, and looks at me with lowered eyelids in a sideways glance.

I lean forward and let my lips lightly brush against the outer lobe of his ear. "Oh please, I'm always up for a challenge. But I want to finish this bottle of rum first, just so we can have a little more fun." And with that I lean back and take another large swig from the bottle.

I don't think I have ever finished a bottle of alcohol that fast with anybody, but about a minute later, we're stuffing it back into a compartment in the front of the motorcycle and taking off as fast as possible back down the ramp and towards his apartment.

Many of the shops we passed earlier have closed and turned off all of their lights, and the sidewalks are considerably less crowded than they were before.

I quit paying attention to the lights around us as I feel Shizuo trailing his hand up my leg from my knee up. I get a mischievous grin on my face as my grip around Shizuo's waist tightens and I move my hips forward on the seat so the middle seam of my pants is right up against his backside. I play with the loose fabric of his white tank top a little bit before letting my fingers wander down beneath it to trace the harsh edges of his abdominal muscles.

Shizuo shudders and stops moving his hand up my thigh, stopping and squeezing it while letting a hiss of air escape through his teeth.

"Your hands are cold." He slightly laughs before removing his hand from my thigh to cup my smaller hand under his shirt. "But they feel good." He folds his fingers between mine and lets them curl underneath so his fingertips are pressing into my palm.

I lean my head into the crook of his neck and kiss the skin at the place where his neck meets his shoulder, giggling lightly before curling my fingers so my nails lightly move along his skin. He lets out a hard breath before squeezing my hand again and moving his head to the side a little so I can continue kissing his neck without our helmets knocking against each other.

We both are so lost in each other's touch that it takes a particularly loud and violent rev of the engine from Shooter to get us to get to realize we have stopped and to get off of him, but obviously the vibration from the engine doesn't do either of us any good.

"Thanks, Shooter. Tell Celty thanks too." Shizuo mumbles as he takes out the bottle of rum and steps back. With that, Shooter whinnies and does another wheelie before taking off down the street again.

I bite my lip and squeeze Shizuo's hand. "What are we waiting for, I want to continue our game." I growl a bit seductively beside his ear.

He takes off walking immediately and fumbles with his keys in his pocket before unlocking the door. I just barely make it inside before I'm against the wall with him pressed flush against my skin.

"You were saying?" He half growls with a sultry tone right against my lips.

I grin and push forward onto his lips, almost cutting the inside of my lip on my teeth, but I disregard it as I let myself focus only on the feeling of him pressed against me.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: IMPORTANT.  This is the "lemon" chapter that I promised, and I usually put a lot of work into writing these, because you know, they're sex scenes, and with most sex comes romantic moments and bonding and stuff. So anyway, mature content ahead.  
> OH! And also, there's a lot of bonding-type moments that really are just.... SUPER cute and funny, and I just hope you'll read through them towards the end. I think it will enhance your experience reading the story is all. Alright, hope you enjoy! ☞Ꝋ﹏Ꝋ☞  ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Shizuo moves his hand up and holds my shoulder in an almost unnoticeable grip, then lightens up on pushing my body against the flat surface of the wall, causing me to break our kiss and open my eyes. I stare into his slightly confused expression for a second, then stand up on my tiptoes to lean my lips near his ear.

"You can be a bit rougher, you know. Don't worry about me, bruises heal. I know what I'm getting into."

"But-"

"If you won't be rough, then I will." I half growl as I lightly bite the lower part of his earlobe and pull his hips toward me so they are pressed tightly against mine. Shizuo hisses as the top of my thigh brushes between his legs and lightly touches the upper middle of the inside of his thigh, then barely graces the middle of his pants; only just enough to elicit a response from him.

"Alright, fine, but please tell me if I'm hurting you."

I meet his eyes with a soft, but challenging grin and nod at his request, not wasting a second in meeting his lips again in a much rougher kiss than before. My teeth lightly clack against his as we pull apart and together again, pressing firmly into each other's lips to be as close as possible.

I reach a hand down and fiddle with the button of my jeans, jerking a little bit as my hand brushes against the soft skin of my stomach that just barely pushes out from the tight waistband of my jeans. My lips burn with heat from our kissing, and my face and neck feel hot against the air around us, but my hand is freezing cold and shaking- although more from the excitement than the temperature. I pop the button with a flick of my thumb and forefinger, then freeze as I feel Shizuo brush the front of his pants against my cold hand.

I accidentally let out a soft moan into his mouth as the warmth from his erection presses against my freezing hand and creates a tingling feeling. I turn my palm towards him- forgetting about my own pants- and impatiently tug at the button of his jeans, popping them open and placing my hand on the other side of his hip, pulling him forward so I can feel his hardness against me.

Shizuo thumbs the delicate skin above my collarbone, pushing at it slightly before catching the chain of my necklace with his finger. He pulls at it a little, then lets go of it and moves up to trace along the side of my neck. He hooks his large fingers along my jaw, then pushes past it and down to grab the back of my neck, squeezing it lightly and pushing us even deeper into our kisses. His other hand- which I hadn't really noticed until now- latches onto the peak of my right hip- exactly where it matters. The little nerves that had been silently aching there with me only slightly aware of them light up with a sharp, pleasantly hot feeling that spreads across an invisible little diagonal line and mingles with the heat between my legs, making me squeeze them with gritted teeth.

Suddenly, Shizuo's knee is prying them apart from each other with a rough, but still somewhat hesitant nudge. He lifts his leg up a little and presses the top of his thigh hard against the seam of my pants, then pulls it back to him with an excruciatingly slow pace that drags a soft whine from my throat. He then lowers his leg back to the ground and rests it against me, torturing me even more. 

Shizuo moves from my lips and delves his face into the crook of my neck, this time lightly scraping his teeth along the sensitive skin between my shoulder and collarbone.

I just barely hold a groan back through clenched teeth, but I'm helpless against stopping my voice as he forcefully sucks down at the skin. He grins against the forming bruise and moves the hand behind my neck up to lightly drag my bottom lip down before letting it go. He then turns his hand, letting his fingertips heavily drag against my cheek before placing his middle and forefinger on the tip of my lips.

"Suck on them." He lightly nips at my abused skin for emphasis. I can do little but comply, and open my jaw a little, allowing him to slip his fingers through. I close my lips around them as they meet my tongue and just barely touch my teeth against the middle joints before sucking at them lightly, then hesitantly licking them. I don't really know what he is doing, but seconds later he starts moving his fingers in and out of my mouth in short little strokes. I take my hand and place it on his back, the tips of my fingers hooking on his jutting shoulder blade for something to ground me, because my mind feels so hazy with lust and want.

Shizuo's nose brushes up and pushes into the underside of my jaw and opens his eyes, and the way he looks at me forces my eyes to stare back in a silent question of what he wants.

"Take off your jeans." He murmurs into my neck with a demanding look. I shudder at his voice and bite my lip as he holds my stare- my hand shakily moving from his hip back over to my jeans.

He jerks his fingers from my mouth, leaving me feeling empty, but gives me a slight glare. "You're going too slow." Shizuo scolds before backing away from me for a second, causing my eyes to widen and my upper body to follow after him from pushing against him so hard. I watch in surprise as he grabs my jeans by the belt loops and jerks them down; the side of my underwear following them down a little and exposing the light tan line I got during the summer.

Shizuo crouches down and grabs my hip in a swift movement, then pulls me so that I stumble towards him. He looks up at me before placing the two fingers he had in my mouth right along the bottom of my underwear. My arm snaps out and pushes against the wall and my other hand jerks down to grip tightly onto his shoulder- his grip on my hips, the wall, and his shoulder the only things keeping my weak legs from collapsing beneath me.

He curves his fingers so they rub over my slit, then pulls them back over my lips, causing my own fingers to curve and push into the skin of his shoulder. If he feels it, he doesn't show it, and instead starts moving his hand down from my hips in a dangerous line. He lightly pushes his fingers into the soft flesh of my lower back before pulling them down and over my ass, stopping for only a second to grab my left cheek with the entirety of his hand before continuing on. He traces the line where the bottom of my ass meets the back of my left leg, then grabs the back of my thigh and grips tightly down on it.

I practically yell as the nerves in my leg set on fire from being touched, the pleasure drowning out any pain and making me lose my upper balance a little to fall back against the wall. My breath comes out in short little gasps, and I have to move my hand from Shizuo's shoulder to his messy blonde hair, gripping down hard, but not hard enough to hurt him. I almost lose all of the strength in my legs as Shizuo moves forward and replaces his fingers with the tip of his tongue in a long stroke.

Whimpers and groans flow freely through my mouth, and I move my right leg up to lightly rest on the top of his shoulder; the hand he was just using for rubbing me coming to rest on the curve of that leg to support me.

"Shizuo... k-keep going..." I plead through clenched teeth, my dominant side hidden away for now. I note down that I might like to try it out more next time, or just later on- depends on how this goes.

Shizuo laughs, his hot breath making me shiver violently as it hits the slightly damp underside of the lingerie. He goes for one more long stroke, then focuses on the peak of my lips and sucks down on it. My hand moves from the wall to cover my mouth in a quick move, muffling a scream that almost escapes through my lips. I feel my heart beating faster, and the slight feeling of emptiness inside of me is almost unbearable with pleasure searing through me, and my lower belly aching.

"Shizuo, I can't... I need you to-" I can't formulate a complete sentence through the fog of my mind, my arousal clouding my thoughts completely from an inability to control them from going so long without pleasure.

I don't need to form a complete sentence, though. Shizuo pulls away from me a little and hugs my waist before helping me lower my leg to the ground. He keeps a tight hold on me and stands up, slowly gliding his hands up my back to hold me against him, all the while pulling the back of my shirt up with him. 

I look into his eyes weakly, my breathing hard and labored as I let my head fall into the crook of his neck. He wraps both of his arms around me for a second in a tender hug, giving me a small break that I didn't know I had been needing so badly.

"I can't wait anymore..." I whisper into his shoulder.

"Alright, hold on." He turns his head and kisses my temple before folding my arms behind his neck and running his hands down my back to hook under my butt. He gently lifts me up onto him, and I hold tight to his neck, limply locking my legs behind his back. 

I close my eyes and bury myself into the warmth of his neck, absentmindedly kissing it as he walks, not paying one bit of attention to anything around us except to kick my shoes off as he walks a bit briskly to wherever we are going. 

After what feels like forever to my sex clouded brain, I feel my back touch the cool, but cushiony surface of a bed. I feel the front of my shirt slip up to show most of my stomach; the light, feathery feeling of the fabric making me grit my teeth as my sense of touch fires into overdrive with the anticipation of satisfying a need that has been there for so long without having been properly taken care of.

"(Y/n)?"

"...Yeah?"

"Ready?"

"...mhmm..." I open my eyes just a crack and fist the bed sheets as he pulls his shirt over his head and throws it on the floor, then shakes his hair out a little and meets my gaze with half-lidded, golden brown eyes that make me feel even wetter from just looking into them.

He leans forward and licks along the inner part of my left thigh, his eyes never leaving mine for a second. My back arcs, and I dig my nails into the bed a little further, using my other hand to put a pillow behind my head so I can see him.

I look down just in time to see him grab my hip with one hand, and loop his finger around my underwear with the other, pulling it down. I feel a bit of confidence fade away as and a couple of insecure and bad memories of rejection breach the haze in my mind. My thighs close shut out of fear and nervousness, stopping his movements. I whimper and cover my eyes with my arm, grimacing from the harsh reminders flashing through my mind.

"(Y/n)?" I barely hear him.

I feel him move up a bit, placing his knees on either side of my hips and hovering just above them. I jerk back a little unintentionally as I feel him lightly brush his hand against my cheek.

"Are you okay? Did I hurt you?" He gently prods. I don't want to remove my arm from my eyes now, because I feel tears pooling underneath them. I simply shake my head, my lip quivering. "Please, what did I do?"

A sob escapes from my mouth as I hear him say it. I realize just how sweet Shizuo is being towards me, and that I should trust him, but I don't want to get hurt again. However, at the same time, I don't want to hurt him. I reach my other hand up and wipe the small tears away, then take a shaky but deep breath and remove my arm.

His eyes widen, and he moves to wipe the tears away, but looks into mine for permission. I see the sincerity and genuine attraction in his eyes, and smile through the remaining tears.

"Don't worry about it, I'm just a little overwhelmed. I... haven't done this before, and I'm just... a little scared." Technically it's true. I am scared about letting someone in this much after the trauma I've experienced, and I don't know what to think because I haven't had sex with anyone before.

He sighs a little in relief, then bends down and touches his forehead with mine. "To be honest, I'm a little scared too, but like you said, bruises heal, and I'd rather take the risk of getting hurt than missing out on you."

"Where have you been all my life?" I breathily laugh against his lips. It instantly makes me feel better, and I lean up and kiss him again, pulling my legs up a little and sliding my underwear down my legs.

"Alright. Now, take off your pants." I say in a serious tone, mocking him from earlier. He grins at me and shakes his head at me in amusement.

"Yes, ma'm." He jokes and pulls his zipper down.

"You're going too slow." I look up at him and bite my lip as he gives me a challenging smirk. With that, I grab his shoulder and bring my left leg up to wrap around his right leg, then push his shoulder and throw my weight to the side, knocking him over and onto his back. I stare down at him from my place sitting on his hips.

"You know, the real question is where have you been all my life." He asks me as he looks up at me from below.

I giggle and roll my hips against his. He groans through gritted teeth and closes one eye from the spike of pleasure.

"Enough talking."

I push his legs down behind me and scoot back on his thighs, making sure I let the bottom of my shirt come dangerously close to showing myself, but not quite showing anything yet. I smirk and run the tip of my pointer finger from his navel down to the waist of his boxers before dragging my palm down against his skin, cupping him through his clothes. I lean down and lick completely along him from the base of his cock, all the way up to his glans, then breathe hotly against him, causing a wave of goosebumps to rise along his skin.

I sit up on my knees and tug his jeans down to his knees, then let him kick them off behind me as I continue with my work. I wrap my hand around him tightly, but not too tightly, and move hand my along him, then experimentally flick my tongue against his balls, letting out a little shocked noise as I feel Shizuo simultaneously grip my hair, and jerk up, so I have my face buried in him. I laugh against him a little bit, knowing he can't help it, but the vibration causes him to jerk his hips again, muffling me a little bit more.

He relaxes after a second and lets go of my hair with a sorry look.

"Don't worry about it, you're fine." I reassure him, taking his hand and placing it back on the side of my head, making a light fist with him so my hair falls between his fingers.

I let go of his hand with a light smile, then turn back to what I was doing. I know what I'm supposed to do, I mean, you can't blame me for being curious on a lonely night and looking it up, can you?

I gently pull his boxers back and take him into my hand. I move my hand experimentally, watching his close-eyed expressions through the tops of my eyes as I move along the soft skin of his member and thumb along the ridge lining the bottom. A little too quickly I get bored, and lower my mouth down and place the tip of his cock in my mouth. My will to take it slow is quickly shot down as he jerks from the sharp feeling and accidentally pushes my head down.

I take half of it into my mouth, and write off his apologetic look as I continue to move up and down along his shaft. He feels stiff in my mouth, but soft to the touch, with little ridges of veins tickling my tongue and the roof of my mouth. He feels so hot to the touch, but it feels so good, like taking a large drink of whiskey and letting the burn sit in your mouth.

"(Y/n)..." He groans, licking his lips and trying to catch his breath. I move my eyes to show I'm listening. "I... don't know how much more... I can take."

"Okay, do you want to trade places?"

He nods, and I hold up a finger, signalling him to wait. I smirk and pull the bottom edge of my shirt over my head, exposing all of my lower half, and my bra to him. I really didn't care to match my bra and underwear, but I don't think he really cares anyway in this moment.

"Oh, and by the way, I am on the pill." I inform with a wink. "Just so ya know." I throw my shirt over the side of the bed along with his, then pull the hook loose at the back of my bra and throw it over the side along with the shirt. I swing my leg around him and turn over onto my side, jokingly making a "paint me like one of your French girls" pose, which makes him laugh as he turns over.

He gets in between my legs as I lay flat on my back, then places his hand near my waist.

"Ah, hold on a second and let me, uh, warm my self up..." I say a little embarrassedly as I move my fingers down towards my heat and stick a couple inside myself with a sharp breath. I move them in and out a little, but stop as he takes a light hold of my wrist.

"Here, let me do that..." He offers. He is right. Everything always feels better if someone else does it. I plan to do the same for him though.

I nod and pull my fingers away, only for Shizuo to replace them and make my hips unwillingly jerk towards him. I dig my heels into the bedspread and grip at the pillow behind my head like my life depends on it. I strike off the thought of... "warming him up", seeing as I can barely contain myself. I have to believe he's done this before- he's hitting all of the best places to touch without fail. There's never been a time that I've felt this sharp of an aroused feeling doing anything to myself.

"Okay, okay... I'm good." I shout a little too loudly as I feel myself tightening up. Both of us are almost at our limit, and if I came now, I would be too far behind to cum again before he does. He nods in understanding anyway.

He grabs a hold of his member and runs his hand along it once before he moves forward and positions himself with me.

"Are you ready?" He asks, a bit of worry on his face. I reach forward and grab his hand, interlocking them together with a smile.

"Yeah..." I nervously reply.

He holds the tip against the warm entrance, then slowly pushes the tip in to where just the head and and inch of the shaft is inside of me. He falls down towards me with our chests brushing and our nipples catching on one another; his weight on top of making me feel comforted and secure as I push past the pain of being stretched. Not much time later, I completely adjust to him, and realize that I'm death gripping his hand.

I would laugh, but I'm so overwhelmed by pleasure that all I can do is lock my legs around his back and murmur for him to move.

As soon as he does, I moan loudly at how hot the friction between us is and I desperately crave more of him; wanting him to push deeper and deeper into me so I can be as close to him as physically possible. Shizuo rocks in and out of me in fluid movements, and I can tell by his pace that I'm squeezing down a little too tightly. I take a couple of deep breaths and relax myself a little bit for him, instantly feeling the difference as I get some of my wish for him to hit deeper into me. 

We call each other's names in sweet whispers that just barely pass our lips and are only audible to the two of us. Even if anybody else could hear it, we are the only ones that matter in this moment.

A small squeal slips from my mouth as he hits a spot that immediately makes my legs quiver and the inside of my pussy twitch. "Gah! Right there! Hah- harder!"

He does what I ask immediately, and I feel myself tightening, but in the moment, I want to be selfish and finish first. It's the only thing I want next to feeling him cum inside of me- the proof that I can have someone I'm actually attracted to like me back, and be satisfied with me, even though it sounds a little weird- but it makes me feel happy to have someone be there with me and actually care.

As he hits that spot one more time, I clench my hand in his again and feel my orgasm hit me through and through. My body shakes in ecstasy as I tighten around him, my nerve endings fizzling from continued abuse. I lean up and kiss him as I feel myself slowly starting to come down from my high, but as soon as I do, I squeak against his mouth as I feel the odd sensation of him cumming inside of me. It's practically searing hot, but it comforts me a lot more than it makes me feel uncomfortable in this position.

"Sorry, I should have pulled out..." He apologizes.

"No, you're fine. I told you I was on the pill for a reason." I smile and he kisses me again, this time slow and gentle, like a butterfly's delicate wing against my lips. I wrap my arms around his shoulders and follow him as he pulls out of me and falls over to my left. I hook my right leg behind his and snuggle into his chest, listening closely to the sound of his heartbeat.

He wraps his arms around me, like I have done to him, then kisses the top of my hair. Only then do I notice just how sweaty I am, and how sticky my legs feel. I pull my head away from his chest a little bit to look up into his eyes.

"Do you think we could take a bath together?" He opens his eyes and smiles thoughtfully down at me.

"Yeah, I think we probably need one after that." He laughs.

I push myself up from the bed, feeling his arms slide down my front from my shoulder all the way down to my waist. He rests his head on his elbow and looks up at me with a kind grin.

"What?" I smile at him, I feel a little weird with him looking at me so... lovingly, but I quickly begin to like it.

"Nothing." His mouth quirks into a grin.

"Tell me."

"I don't know what you're talking about." The quirky smile turns to a sleepy, but playful grin.

"Teeeeell meeeeee."

"M-mm." He shakes his head.

I pick up one of the pillows on the bedspread and slam it down on his shoulder with an amused grin. I bite my lip cutely as I catch his stare again, this time accepting the challenge of a pillow fight. I, in turn, hit him again.

"You're gonna pay for that." He shoots up and grabs a pillow from behind him, but I hop off of the bed and start running towards the bathroom across the room. As he reels his arm back to throw his pillow, I throw mine back at him and hit him in the face, cancelling out his throw and making the pillow hit the floor feet behind me.

"Missed me missed me, now you gotta kiss me!" I yell behind me as I flip the light switch on in the bathroom.

"Fine, get over here and I will!"

"Uh-uh, you come here."

I look at myself in the mirror and cringe a little at my messed up hair, though it's not so bad that I would be embarrassed for life or anything.

"Hey Shizuo, do you mind if I use your hairbrush?"

"No." He answers from right behind me, and I automatically know that I'm fucked. This time, literally.

He swings the pillow and hits the back of my butt, making me laugh and jump a little. He then throws the pillow back into the other room, and turns back to me, hugging me from behind.

He still feels hot against me, and I feel goosebumps raise up along my back for a few seconds. He nuzzles his cheek against the side of my head and looks at me in the mirror with another one of those loving grins.

I mirror his expression and brush the side of my hair Shizuo isn't on. He kisses my cheek and backs up, turning around and bending down to turn the water on.

I flinch as I start to feel semen dripping out of me and down my legs. Whatever "pleasant feeling" I had from before is loooooong gone now.

I twist my hair up into a bun and tie it in a bit of a knot so it stays up temporarily, then take a little bit of toilet paper and check to make sure that Shizuo isn't looking before I wipe the little glistening trail away from my legs, also making sure to get between my legs.

I fold the little sheets of toilet paper together and throw them in the disposal bin before turning around and meeting him next to the bath. He pulls his hand out from the water and runs it through his hair, slicking it back a little so it stays out of his face. He nods towards the bathtub for me to get in.

"You should do that more often, you look hot like that." I giggle and stick my big toe into the water before putting my whole foot in. I bring my other foot in behind me, then sit down in the middle of the tub so Shizuo can sit behind me.

"Maybe I should." He steps into the bathtub behind me and uses my shoulder for balance before sitting down behind me. He stretches his legs out on either side of me then pulls my shoulder back a little so I can lean against his chest. 

He pulls a bar of soap out of a little bin next to the bathtub and dips it in the water before running it over my shoulders. I hum at the feeling of the soap and close my eyes, leaning fully into Shizuo. He moves past my shoulder and over the top of my chest, but not past my breasts. He moves to my arms and lathers up my biceps, then sets the bar of soap on the side of the bathtub. 

I figure out what he is doing as he lays his large hands over my shoulders, making me feel small with how they envelop both of my shoulders with just his palm. He moves his hands down both of my arms until he hits the water, then drags them up again to wet my skin. He dips his hands in the water again before moving them up to my collarbones and rubbing down until he reaches the tips of my breasts and runs his fingertips over my nipples. I let out a soft moan that sounds more like a hum than anything super sexual.

"You're so soft." He mumbles into my ear. I turn the corner of my lip up in a smile and turn my head up to kiss his jaw before going back to my position against his chest.

"And you're so charming." I playfully mutter. He laughs through closed lips, the rumble of it going through my back and making my comfortable grin stretch a bit wider.

"That's the first time I've heard that."

"Well, you're so charming. There's the second time."

He places his lips on the back of my hair in a light kiss, but keeps them there and continues smiling against me. He brings his hands down into the water and rinses off my arms and breasts, making sure to rub his hands over the soapy spots to make sure I'm fully clean before grabbing the soap and lathering his hands up. He goes below the surface of the water and rubs at the area around my thighs, then in between them before running a couple of fingers between my lips and pressing against my slit. My breathing picks up a little, but with the calmness of the situation and my tired state of mind, I don't get as aroused as I probably normally would.

He runs his hands over me a little more before wrapping his arms around my middle- just below my breasts- then leaning back against the wall. He comfortably sighs, and I turn my body around in his grip, then put my legs on either side of his and stand up.

"Your turn now."

He grunts a little in reply, then I grab the soap off of the side of the tub and run it over his shoulders. I find it to be just as relaxing as him running the soap over me; with me tracing every line of his arms and torso, seeing just how many scratches and scars that decorate his body.

"How did you get all of these marks?"

"Guys try'na fight me, or pushing me way past pissed off."

"Haha, that line must be a very short distance away from calm."

"It really is. Something about the guys around here is just irritating, but very few girls irritate me at all."

"Nice to know I can push your buttons as much as I want."

"That's not what I meant." He laughs and opens his eyes again to meet mine.

"Now I gotta find what buttons to push, ah... how about here." I reach forward and kiss him on the mouth. "Do you feel pissed off at all?"

"Completely pissed off. Do it again and see what happens." We meet together in another kiss, and I feel the tips of my breasts drag against the hard muscle of his chest as I put the soap down and lean fully against him again.

"Mmm, what about now?"

"You're so gonna pay for that."

"With what?"

"Another kiss."

I move towards him, but dodge his mouth this time and dip down to kiss against the soft skin under his jaw. He jerks a little in surprise and lets out a small noise. I do it again and get almost the same reaction. Pleased with finding somewhere he's ticklish, I bite my lip and lean back again.

"How pissed are you now?"

"Extremely pissed."

"Good!"

I splash some water up on his chest and clean all of the suds off of him, then get the rest of the suds off of me from leaning against him.

"Ready to get out?"

"Yep, are you?"

He nods and holds a hand out for me so I can use it as a support to stand up. I lift myself up and out of the tub, then grab a towel and dry myself off, pretending not to notice Shizuo staring at me. As soon as I get done drying off, he stands up from the tub. I put my towel on the floor for him and look around the bathroom for another one, spotting one behind the door. I grab it and hand it too him, stealing small glances towards his lower half as he dries off. Man, it is hard not to stare, though.

I pick up my towel from the floor when he gets done and find a small hamper towards the back, throwing them in with some other dirty clothes that were already in there.

"Shizuo, I think you're the first man I have ever met that actually uses a hamper."

"My room being messy pisses me off."

"You're ridiculous."

I follow behind him as he pulls the comforter off of his bed and goes to his closet before pulling out a large, extremely fluffy looking white blanket.

He throws it out and lets it drape down onto the bed then pulls it back down a little bit. I look down at the bed, and then look down at my underwear that has been thrown on the floor and then look back up at Shizuo, who has gone back to his closet and pulled on a fresh pair of plain boxer shorts.

"Do you have any T-shirts I could borrow?"

"Yeah, here you go."

He pulls a thin white shirt off of one of his hangars and holds it out to me. I take it and hold it in my hand, marveling at how soft the fabric feels. I pull it over my head and smooth it down a little over my boobs before looking up at Shizuo.

"How does it look?"

"Is that a trick question?"

"No, I'm serious!"

"You'd look beautiful in ten, heavy-duty winter coats."

"You're so charming. Third time around." I giggle and hop onto the bed, sliding myself under the blanket and snuggling against the pillows. Shizuo rolls his eyes and throws on a black T-shirt with a red and white band logo on the front then walks over to the bed.

He looks at the nightstand on his side of the bed and brings his hand to the side of his head in astonishment. "What time did we get here again? It's two in the morning."

"Haha what? I think we got here around maybe... eleven?"

"I guess that saying is true..."

"What saying?" I sit up on my side and look curiously at him as he pulls the covers over his legs.

"Time flies when you're having fun."

"Oh my God." I roll my eyes and laugh through my nose. I then shake my head at him and lay back down on my other side, facing away from him.

"Oh come on, that was good and you know it."

"...Fine. It was." I pout but giggle as he wraps his arms around me from the back and pulls me towards his chest. I snuggle my back up to him and sleepily grin, sighing at the feeling of his rhythmic, warm breathing blows against the back of my neck in a way that calms me down almost instantly.

"Goodnight, Shizuo." The grin still sticking on my face even as I feel myself falling asleep more and more each second from the smell of him, and his heartbeat against my back.

"Goodnight, (Y/n)." He says as he kisses the back of my neck one more time before I let myself drift off completely.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/n: Well it has been a long ass time, my dudes, but I wanted to get one step closer to the end of this story by updating with new content at least ONCE for all of my stories. You guys deserve it for sticking with me, and I know how stupid it is to have to wait for so long just to see a story update (for a whole goddamn year- I'm such an idiot haha). But I'm NOT gonna break promises with this, and I'm not gonna bring you horrible quality, so while it may take me some time, I think it's worth it for those who like this story and want to see what happens next. SO THANK YOU, and I hope you enjoy. :)))

 

I slowly come into consciousness beneath the warmth of the extremely soft blanket draped over me and also what I can only assume is a large pillow that somehow migrated behind me, which I have managed to warm up with my body heat against it. But jeez, I need to get better pillows- this one seems way too firm to be anything extremely comfortable to sleep on. I deftly turn and drape my arm over it anyway, because it's comforting- although slightly depressing- to have something to hold onto and pretend that there is someone actually there to hold you back. I sigh as I bury my forehead into the stiff pillow that seems to have been flipped onto its side- half in comfort and half in slight melancholy.

 

"You awake...?"

 

I jump in shock and move my body back, my eyes snapping open to meet the surprised gaze of... holy _shit._ Wait, when, what,  _where_? I look around in confusion, then suddenly remember what actually happened last night, and I feel my face heat up as I notice the weight of his arm as it lays draped softly over my side. We stare at each other in confusion for a few seconds, then I finally realize the weight of my situation and reach up to smack both of my hands over my face in incredible embarrassment. After a few seconds, light laughter escapes from his lips, and I move a couple of my fingers apart to peek up at him from my place near my chest.

 

"I guess that's a yes," he murmurs as he lightly moves his fingers over the soft skin just above my hip. I blush even harder when I realize that I don't have my underwear on because of the events that transpired last night, and he is dangerously close to brushing over the curve of my ass. I press my lips together to quell my embarrassment and slight fear of having made a mistake in allowing myself to continue on with getting intimate with him last night instead of going home. I look up at his expression again to see that he has closed his eyes again, and I realize that what looks to be complete bliss has overtaken his expression.

 

A little bit of my fear fades away. He continues to softly brush the pads of his fingers over my skin in what looks like an attempt to reassure me because, just as I feel it, he looks down at me with an expression of reassurance in his eyes.

 

"I've been up for a little while, and I didn't want to wake you up. Do you feel okay?"

 

I gaze at him a little mechanically, analyzing his every move for any sign of malice or disgust towards me. I'm wary of his every movement. "...So despite after what transpired last night, you are still unsure?" I'm a little shocked to hear the deep, lulling voice who I know to belong to the moving tattoo of my dragon; undoubtedly curled around the shell of my earlobe. He must think it's incredibly important to be talking to me right now because he rarely does it anymore. I listen intently. "You seemed to have been more than willing to take astounding leaps within your relationship last night, and he responded to your every whim with the same intent as you. He has taken every step to make you as comfortable and pleased as he possibly can... so what, pray tell, seems to be the problem at this moment?"

 

The  _problem..._  is that I seem to have been in a perpetual state of mind that didn't care about any consequences but just went right on along with everything. Maybe a haze of desire, both for him and to escape my loneliness. I'm not  _regretting_  it right now, but I'm still very cautious after years of being rejected and horribly pranked. I can tell that dragon knows my answer by the way he flicks his tail against my neck in annoyance. But I've lost hope in people having the actual ability to love me, yet here Shizuo is.

 

Shizuo in the meantime seems to have figured out why I have been silent and looks slightly worried, but lets out a soft sigh. "I think I know what you're thinking, (Y/n)," he murmurs. "When I woke up this morning I felt it too. Uncertainty, right?"

 

I curl up a little and nod, feeling nervous and very unsure of what to do. It's scary that someone knows me this well. What if he decides to turn on me? There's almost no chance, but there is still a chance, and that small chance frightens me...

 

"I can promise you that I will never hurt you, and I will never want to- I want you to know that." I curl up into myself even further.

 

"I... know. I'm just..." I open and close my mouth, trying to find words to match my feelings. "This is so fast... I can't tell..." I hiss at myself as I can't find the words fast and efficiently.

 

"Are you uncomfortable?" He asks me with every bit of caring intent laced into his tone. A part of me just can't believe that I'm actually hesitating with this after longing for a relationship like this for what seems like an eternity. For how much of a hothead Shizuo seems to be, he's being incredibly patient with me as I feel like I'm having the most idiotic and monumental conflict of my life.

 

"I just don't... I don't want to be hurt anymore..." A tiny sob escapes my mouth as I bury my head against my knees and cover my face with my hands. I feel like I am laying every bit of my soul out bare to him in the simple act of telling him exactly how I feel, and I'm so scared, but I still reach out to him in a slight plea all the same.

 

Shizuo's fingers stop gracing over my side to slide over the ridge of my hip and softly over the middle of my back. He rests his cheek gently against my hair and pulls me towards him so my face rests against his neck. Another sob escapes my lips as he nuzzles into the softness of my hair and completely envelops me in his embrace, gently yet firmly holding me securely to him.

 

"I know, (Y/n). I don't want to be hurt or to hurt you either. The only thing I want is to be here to protect you from being hurt anymore. And if you will let me, I'll do just that. We can take this as slow as you want- all you need to do is tell me how. We both are inexperienced, but I'm trying, and I'm trying only for you, okay? Now please, don't cry..."

 

My hands move from my face to clutch onto the fabric of his T-shirt, and I find myself nuzzling my cheek into the secure warmth of his neck. "Thank you... thank you so much..." I whisper against his skin, a few more tears rolling down my cheeks. He brings his hand up to pet my hair reassuringly as he simply holds me to him as I gradually stop crying.

 

We lay there for about five more minutes, the darkness of the room and the warmth we share between us putting us back into our half-asleep states. I gradually calm down, and just as I start to drift off again, the voice of my dragon floats into my ear again.

 

"See? What did I tell you? This young man is the best person to get close to among all others. He is genuine and sincerely cares about you, and you are a blind woman not to fully notice that. You are still scared."

 

'Of course I know that  _now_ , you idiot dragon,' I think my reply. The tattoos are a part of me, so they often times know what I will do and what I'm thinking, but it gets incredibly annoying sometimes. 'And how can you blame me? All the other people I have liked have either played with my emotions or flat out rejected me- you know this, so why do you patronize me?'

 

"This young man is not anything like all of the others. You know this already, yet you still think of him based on predispositions, not from personal knowledge. You are not a regular human, so stop acting like one and remember to each their own traits and to others their own opinion of them. You are not them, not part of a group- but as an individual, so cease thinking in this group-mentality."

 

'Listen to me! I already know this, and I'm trying to break this habit, but I can't just let something that has been beaten into me for my whole life just be dropped into the dust like it never affected me at all.  _YOU_  know this, yet you are still yelling at me.'

 

It stops talking for a second, then I feel it curl around my ear a little more with a soft sigh. "I am listening. You forget I only seek the best for you. You simply need to be reminded of your emotions on occasion. You yourself know that you do not possess a very developed ability for knowing the emotions buried within you. I also serve only to remind you of the path you are better off taking. I cannot be your friend, only your mentor at times like this, you understand."

 

'I... understand.' I sigh after a second. This little asshole was planning this the whole time, but I know that just about everything he says to me he has a very good reason for saying. With a lightly annoyed, yet thankful attitude, I smile and reach up to stroke the back of the tiny dragon without opening my eyes.

 

Seconds later I hear the soft humming of a phone vibrating. Shizuo shifts beside me and moves his hand to run it through his hair for a second before he opens his eyes to meet mine. "That's my alarm. I'm afraid I'll have to leave you to go into work today. You're welcome to stay here, or I can take you back to your apartment. I have to meet Tom there anyway, so it wouldn't be any trouble."

 

I grin at him and sit up next to him, feeling his arm fall to softly rest on my hip. "I think I'm going walk with you. I have to organize a few spreadsheets and presentations for a proposal on Monday, so I should probably start on that if I want to be able to sleep at all tomorrow." I humorlessly laugh as I remember the stack of data I need to sort through laying on the floor of my apartment by my couch.

 

"Okay, I'm going to take a quick shower- I'm sure I have some cereal or at least some pudding in the fridge that you can eat before we leave, but I can buy you something on the way back to your apartment too."

 

I shake my head. "I will not let you pay for any of my food until we go on a second date and you let me pay." 

 

He rolls his eyes a little, but inevitably murmurs, "Fine."

 

A small grin pulls at the corner of his lips, and it feels fluid and natural for me to lean down immediately to gently kiss him as I place my hand on his cheek. I pull away only a little bit, keeping my eyes still softly shut as I open my mouth to speak to him. "I really had fun last night, so thank you for everything. I know... I'm probably a bit of a handful," I laugh lightly, which he cuts off as he pushes up to capture my lips again for a brief second. I smile into it and kiss him back before pulling away to catch his gaze. It turns playful as his hand wanders down a little to curve over my ass a little, surprising me.

 

"Yeah you are a good handful, that's for sure," he playfully murmurs as he squeezes down. I yelp slightly, but as soon as I do, he removes his hand to place it on the bed and push himself up, "but you're worth it." He gives me a wry grin that I roll my eyes at and lightly push his chest at with an air of similar playfulness.

 

"Go get dressed, dummy," I flash him a small grin as I catch his eyes one more time before he nods and moves out from under the blanket, then makes his way over to the bathroom.

 

"Are your muscles okay? I have some stuff I use for pulled muscles and aches sometimes if you need it."

 

I experimentally move around as I turn to get out of bed to collect my things and realize that I do ache just a little bit, but not all too much. "I'm alright- you went easy on me, I guess." I get up and stretch my arms above my head as I hear him hum in response, then turn on the tap. I hum lightly and fold the blanket up as well as the comforter, then place them next to the door to be washed. I also change back into my shirt and fold his to place it on top of the bed for him to see. I then go ahead and slip my jeans back on, leaving my underwear off for a little more cleanliness. I think I will be okay until I get home because of the bath we ended up taking last night, but it might be a little uncomfortable for a while. I go ahead and search for some plastic bags and find some under his sink, then I go ahead and slip my underwear in them and pack them deep into my purse that I had dropped on the floor. I smile as I spot the little bouquet of flowers he gave me yesterday, and notice that they still look very healthy despite being stuffed in a bag overnight.

 

Shizuo comes out of the bathroom in the corner of my eye as I make a little pot of coffee in the kitchen for the both of us. I peek over my cup as I wait for his share to brew and entertain myself by watching him get dressed. He's none the wiser as I make sure that I'm turned away when he waltzes in with towel-dried hair and his bartender outfit.

 

"Thanks," he says as he picks up the steaming coffee cup I made for him, which I respond to with a tiny grin. "I'm not much for cooking, so if you let me, I can buy something for me and share it with you on the way to your apartment."

 

I sigh, but let up on my slight stubbornness and nod. "Fine, but you have to have your fill of it first. You're the one who has to go work today- I'm just staying at home. You need your strength."

 

"Alright, deal."

 

We both tilt our heads back to finish our cups and place them down on the table simultaneously. We then grab our things and move to put our shoes on. The both of us do a double check, then move out into the sunlight. It's a little bright at first, but I easily adjust as we move down towards the sidewalk. It's a little early, and the sun hasn't risen up too far, but it's still blinding compared to Shizuo's apartment, and there are still a good amount of people roaming about in business attire. A few shops add color to the sidewalk around us, and we walk in comfortable silence next to each other as we trod along.

 

A few people let their eyes linger on us, and for the first time in my life, I find myself not caring about it one bit- even as I feel my dragon get restless and wind around my neck then down to wrap around my forearm. After a minute, I catch Shizuo occasionally looking at me with a light smile playing on his lips. At this, I go ahead and reach over, taking his hand into mine. He doesn't tense up at all, and instead squeezes my hand in response.

 

We stay like this for a while until we come to a small shop selling some Miso Soup and cut up grilled salmon to put in steamed rice. It's simple and easy, and we both enjoy it as we walk. Shizuo makes the green tea as sweet as he possibly can, which I don't really mind much as we share the food. Soon we get to my street, and he lets me finish the tea as I push open the creaky door of my apartment building and allow him to follow me. Tom is waiting just outside his apartment door and looks up with the soft, calm expression that he naturally wears. I wave lightly at him in greeting and tap Shizuo's shoulder to say a silent goodbye, which he reciprocates with a light smile he really can't help. I then wish them both a good morning and voice my goodbyes to the both of them, which is when Tom looks between Shizuo and me, and his neutral expression changes to slight confusion, then mischievous playfulness as he catches on to us walking in together and Shizuo's behavior. He must not have specified which girl he was talking to when he asked Tom for advice on dating- which he mentioned last night.

 

I softly laugh as the door lightly closes behind me, and move to place my bag on the table near the door as I leave my shoes there. Just as soon as I move to grab my bag that contains the files I need to sort through, I hear my phone buzz inside of my purse and decide that work can wait a bit longer. Unless that text is from work, which I will be less than happy to receive. I remove my phone from my purse regardless and go ahead and take the bouquet out so I can put it in a vase as I check my phone.

 

**Shizuo (at 7:48 AM): Hope you have a good rest of the day. Rest well.**

 

**(Y/n) (at 7: 50 AM): Will do. Don't beat anyone up too bad. ;)**

 

The phone buzzes softly in my hands just as I place the stems in a makeshift vase that is actually just a tall, clear drinking glass. I run my fingers over the smooth petals and smile at the thoughtful gesture as well as the new text on my screen from him.

 

**Shizuo (at 7:51 AM): I'll try not to hit on anyone except you.**

 

**(Y/n) (at 7:51 AM): Alright, you dork. I'll see you later. :)**

 

His icon pops up on my screen, showing me that he's looking at the chat at the same time, and a message comes through from him.

 

**Shizuo (at 7:52 AM): Haha alright. See you later. :)**

 

I hit the power button on my phone as the conversation ends and place it on the counter next to the vase as I turn and pick up my bag. I pull out the overstuffed manila folder I was given yesterday evening and start sorting them into business project piles on my coffee table, turning on the TV to listen to some drama that is playing as some background noise to drown out my thoughts so I don't get too distracted. Once I get everything piled up, I move to go grab a drink from my refrigerator on my way to grab my work laptop to make spreadsheets of the data. Just as I twist open the cap of my drink, I hear my phone buzz again.

 

Staring at it in confusion, I wonder who the hell would be texting me right now. Shizuo should be working at this time, and I don't think he had anything more to text me about, and the only other people in my phone are from work, and they shouldn't have anything to say to me right now on their days off. I place my drink down and pick up my phone, staring at the message on my screen with slight dread until I read it.

 

**+81-9060710436 (at 8:03 AM): Hey this is Celty. I got this number from Shizuo, and I wanted to know if you wanted to come over to my apartment so we can catch up. Shinra's out today and I need a break from his childishness.**

 

I grin at the message and hurriedly reply after putting her contact into my phone.

 

**(Y/n) (at 8:05 AM): Sure, I'd love to! What time do you want me to head over?**

 

I'm really happy to have her number again. The phone that I was using when we knew each other was company issued so we all had each other's numbers on call at any time, and when I had to move jobs so quickly, I didn't have time to back up my contacts or photos on my phone. There weren't many, but still. And it didn't help that I had lost my apartment, so by the time I had finally settled down and had time to relax a bit, I decided that it was probably a little too late to run up and ask for her number again. It was idiotic, I know that now, but anxiety and the need to keep her from worrying about anybody kept me away from a good friendship.

 

**Celty (at 8:06 AM): Oh, don't worry about that, I'll come and pick you up. How does noon sound?**

 

**(Y/n) (at 8:06 AM): Sounds fine to me. And only if you don't mind.**

 

**Celty (at 8:07 AM): Of course I don't mind. Just text me your address and I'll head over around then.**

 

I go ahead and send her my address, which she thanks me for, and then with the promise of meeting later we stop texting for now. I go ahead and start working on putting the masses of data from our multitude of different projects at work into spreadsheets so I can get it all out of the way, and slowly settle into the couch at as awkward an angle as I can possibly get while being comfortable and still getting my work done, and slowly start typing away.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/n: So yeah, this hasn't been updated in forever and a day, but as I promised on Quotev, I got it done and also revised all of the other chapters. I was thinking that Shizuo is such a tough guy, but once he lets someone in that he really cares about and is alone with them, he becomes really sweet. No pretenses, no need to push people away, just being sweet and himself. That way you know that he cares about you. And I know that this has gone really fast pace, but by how these two have been living their lives in Ikebukuro and are treated by other people, I thought it was the best thing for the both of them. Reckless and in love is what I was going for, but the clarity of it was needed because neither would want to be hurt as they have many times before. But as Shizuo said in chapter 3 (which you might have missed), "To be honest, I'm a little scared too, but like you said, bruises heal, and I'd rather take the risk of getting hurt than missing out on you." Which I thought summed it up pretty nicely. But I think I'm going to try and update this every other week if I can, because I'm really busy updating one of my other stories every week, but I'm going to try really hard!!! SO THANK YOU GUYS AND SORRY FOR THE WAIT LOVE YA BYE!
> 
>  
> 
> P.S. Merry Chrysler and Happy Holidays! :)

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I just wanted to let you know, before you go down and comment "unoriginality" on my story, that I truly, 100% came up with it on my own and wrote it out after months of planning, and no time to write. I poured over a lot of ideas, and came up with that tattoo thing after waaaaay too much thinking, and then saw that Moana trailer today and was pissed off, 'cause I knew someone would call bullshit on me or something. So, just putting it out there that I'm already a bit ticked because of that, and I really did come up with this on my own. Please understand my position. Thank you.  
> -morgancatlovey


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